Many companies have been under media scrutiny after using Black Lives Matter on their social media pages.
Some supporters of the BLM movement believe that the companies are using social media to show support however they are not producing change throughout the corporations to support their stance. Uber has put their money where their mouth is to confirm they are not one of these companies.
Uber ‘Big’ Announcement
Uber came out on Friday stating that it will now operate as a Anti-Racist Company. Uber has updated their website with new diversity and inclusion goals stating, “This is just the beginning. It won’t be enough until we see true racial justice. But we plan to work day in and day out to improve, learn, and grow as a company.”
Uber Scandal
Uber is no stranger to scandal in the media regarding racism. In February of 2017, the company was put in the spot light for profiting from the New York Taxi Drivers strike, which was prompted by President Trumps ban of entry of Muslim majority countries.
This prompted the #deleteuber movement. Uber apologized but also denied targeting the strike which resulted in over 400,000 Uber users to delete their app.
So did Uber make these commitments to avoid any further media controversy and retain business? Or is this a genuine shot to straighten out for good and really support the BLM movement?
One month after the #deleteuber movement, Uber released its first diversity numbers. The numbers show that the vast majority of the workforce was Caucasian and Asian, whereas only 8.8% was Black. In the 2019 diversity report, Uber showed an increase at 9.3% Black.
Only a slight increase in Black employees over two years. To accompany the diversity report in 2019 was a plan for two goals aimed to improve diversity. However, this year, they apparently felt that more needed to be done to reduce racism and diversity in the workplace.
Uber’s updated blog has stated that they will provide 10 million dollars towards Black Owned small businesses and 1 million to the Equal Justice Initiative. They also plan to increase the percentage of POC in high ranking positions within the company.
Anti-racism training will be put into effect along with specialized training on bias and discrimination.
Only time will tell if Uber is moving only to rid their past of scandal in the media or if they really are committed to showing BLM followers how they will support the movement.
Such BS. They don’t hire people. People sign up to be drivers. They don’t turn down any drivers unless they do not pass the background check. Obviously fewer black people sign up to be Uber drivers in the first place.