Diversity and Inclusion
The year 2020 has been a watershed moment. Challenged by racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic, the global collective consciousness received a massive call to action. At Uber, we responded by leveraging our platform, not only to become an anti-racist company internally, but also for the external advancement of our communities around the globe.
Our 2020 People and Culture Report features diversity data about our employees. But it’s also about long-term systemic changes that lead to better representation and an improved sense of belonging. It is a reflection of our commitment to move forward with racial and social equity at the centre of all we do.
Culture and belonging
COVID-19 upended the way we live, work and move. With our workforce relocating from the office to working from home, new considerations arose for how to manage a culture of belonging. That includes a new policy codifying flexible work options for parents and caregivers, so they can balance work with caring for those who matter most to them. Because everyone’s home situation is unique, we created three broad options: flexibility throughout the day, redistributed work hours and shift changes.
In addition, we enhanced our mental health support, offered employees a work-from-home stipend and cancelled our mid-year performance review cycle in order to ensure that reviews were not negatively affected while people adjusted to a remote work environment. We’ll continue acting to ensure that Uber is a workplace where everyone is encouraged and equipped to succeed.
Social impact
As the world stopped, we – as a business built on movement – knew how we could help. For the first time in our company history, we asked people to stop moving and to stay at home so that we could move what mattered most: first responders (to work) and food (to those who needed it).
With riders doing their part, we committed to 10 million free rides, meals and deliveries for those in urgent need worldwide, including healthcare workers, isolated seniors, patients needing medical supplies and domestic violence victims. In the first three months alone, Uber more than doubled its commitment, providing 23 million free rides, meals and deliveries.
As delivery people and drivers helped our communities through this crisis, helping them stay safe was our priority. To do so, we worked to source and provide masks and disinfectant sprays, provided financial assistance to those diagnosed with COVID-19 or asked to self-isolate, and helped drivers find other work on and off our platform. As cities begin to reopen, we’ll continue to support those affected by the pandemic and help the world move again safely.
Corporate leadership
To make sure we act on our racial equity commitments, one of the accountability mechanisms we established is the Racial Equity Leadership Council (RELC). This steering committee is responsible for operationalising the commitments to build racial equity internally and externally, within our products, services and advocacy. In 2019, we also tied executive compensation to our D&I goals to ensure that our company leaders are being held accountable for this important work. For 2020, we established goals for increasing representation in leadership and have seen some positive progress, especially for women – plus a slight increase for underrepresented talent.
‘As a company that powers movement, it’s our goal to ensure that everyone can move freely and safely, whether physically, economically, or socially. We are determined to help fight the racism that persists across society and to be a champion for equity, both inside and outside our company.’
Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Executive Officer, Uber
‘We firmly believe that history may shape us, but it does not define us. Uber is committed to defining new ways of doing business that are not merely non-biased but actively create greater equity.’
Bo Young Lee, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Uber
Our employee data
Below is a closer look at our workforce representation over the last two years.¹
Charts | Global gender and US race/ethnicity representation
Global gender representation
US race and ethnicity representation²
Gender by region
Charts | Our leadership representation⁴
Global gender representation
US race/ethnicity representation⁵
See charts for gender by race representation in the US on pages 35 and 36 of the People and Culture Report.
Charts | Representation of our new hires⁶
Global gender representation
US race/ethnicity representation⁷
See charts for gender by race representation of our new US hires on pages 37 and 38 of the People and Culture Report.
¹Current representation data is as of March 2019 and August 2020.
²Race and ethnicity percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
³Our support workforce (typically referred to as customer service employees in industry terms) includes Community Specialists at our Centres of Excellence and Greenlight Hubs.
⁴Leadership is defined as director and above.
⁵Race and ethnicity percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
⁶New hire representation data is as of August 2020.
⁷Race and ethnicity percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.