Corporate Change: Lara

When Lara started at Uber in late 2016 as a recruiter for the Data Science team, she didn’t expect that her passion for diversity and inclusion would become such a critical element in helping Uber move forward. 

As Lara spent more time at Uber, she saw opportunities to create change that went beyond her day-to-day recruiting duties. She became deeply involved with our Diversity and Inclusion team and our Pride Employee Resource Group, and she worked to bring more support to Uber’s LGBTQ+ employees and the communities we serve.

“I saw a stark difference between how Uber was portrayed in the headlines and what I experienced first-hand working with passionate, wonderful, and positive humans,” she says. “I wanted to create a positive impact and change for people at Uber—and the people who come into contact with Uber as a company.”

That passion has led to her new role as a Retention and Inclusion Program Manager—making it her focus to create programs that help employees feel welcomed at Uber, to shed light on issues that minority groups face (both internally and externally), and to enable others to have a voice and create change.

Drawing on a strong support network and activities that keep her physically active, including yoga and challenging outdoor excursions (hiking base camp at Mount Everest is on her bucket list), Lara is inspired to give back and help others feel equally as inspired to contribute and make change at Uber.

By helping others be seen and heard, Lara and the employees who contribute to Diversity and Inclusion initiatives embody and inspire Uber’s Moving Forward initiative—culturally as well as for riders and drivers.

From a company perspective, Lara and her colleagues have served as advisers not only on cultural awareness but to Uber’s business as well—making sure that Uber itself is mindful of how its decisions and partnerships affect LGBTQ+ and other minority communities. In the past year, Uber has made significant changes in leadership and how the company operates, but employees such as Lara and the efforts to improve diversity and inclusion show that every individual can have an impact as Uber charts its new course.