On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve gender sensitized over 100,000 drivers on our platform. We now plan to expand this drive to non-Uber drivers in partnership with various state governments. 

This is an industry-first initiative. It reiterates our continued commitment to enhance safety while helping #BreakTheBias by making public spaces safer for women. 

We’ve partnered with the Manas Foundation, a Delhi-based NGO working in the field of mental health, gender equity, and justice, to run gender sensitization sessions since 2018. These sessions help drivers understand, and be sensitive, to the needs of women riders. Drivers on the Uber platform across 34 Indian cities have benefited from this initiative. 

Experts from Manas Foundation conduct these sessions to educate drivers on how men and women use public transport systems, the extent of harassment women face in public spaces and highlight the role of drivers in addressing the issue. They also learn how to modify their professional behavior to make women feel safer and commit to being a part of the solution. #APACsocialimpact

Mohan Dabde, who drives on the Uber platform, displays his digital certificate from the Uber gender sensitization session delivered in partnership with Manas Foundation

Highlighting the need for gender sensitization, Monica Kumar, Co-Founder, Manas Foundation, said,  “Our partnership with Uber has helped enhance safety on the platform by resulting in behavioral change. We view drivers as important agents of change in the journey towards making public transport safe and accessible for women. In our conversations with drivers, they’ve recognized the impact of these sessions resulting in sensitive and empathetic behavior towards women and making them small changes that help women feel more secure during rides. The 100,000 mark is an important milestone in our partnership and we hope to positively contribute towards scaling this program further to non-Uber drivers in the near future.” 

Appreciation from thought-leaders

Sharing her support for the partnership, Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, National Commission of Women (NCW), said, “I congratulate Uber India in achieving this milestone of 100,000 gender sensitized partners. They have worked with dedication and purpose to make this happen along with Manas Foundation despite the challenge brought about by COVID-19. As more State governments look towards mandating such sessions for commercial drivers, such interventions will further scale and positively impact citizens’ lives by making public transport safer. I hope more companies will follow suit and contribute towards creating safer public spaces for women.”  

Drivers’ response to the training

As per an impact assessment carried out by Manas Foundation, a majority of drivers have responded positively to the sessions and have implemented learnings in their work lives.

Mohammad Salim, a driver active on the Uber platform, believes that after attending the training session, he has become more conscious of his behavior towards female passengers and follows guidelines given by Uber diligently. He said, “The session was really impactful. I’ve now started to spread awareness about the in-app emergency button, and other safety features. I try to ensure that all passengers, especially women, feel comfortable throughout the trip, and support them in any way possible. I am happy that my Uber rating has gone up and passengers feel happy riding with me.”

Uber gender sensitization session for driver-partners delivered online in partnership with Manas Foundation

Arun Sharma, another driver active on the Uber platform, shared that the impact of the session is visible in how he engages with his passengers. He added, “I have learned a lot more about what constitutes respectful behavior towards women. I am now more focused on creating a safe environment for passengers and informing them that I have attended a gender sensitization session. I feel I understand passengers better and they are also satisfied on the trips they take with me.”  

We continue to harness technology to enhance rider safety on our platform through a host of safety features such as two-way feedback and ratings, 24X7 safety support, and an in-app emergency button, among others.