Uber's Black Employee Decline: Anti-Racism Commitment Questioned

Uber recently published its latest diversity report, revealing a decrease in the proportion of Black employees within its U.S. workforce, even with heightened attention to racial equity following events such as the death of George Floyd. The representation of Black employees fell from 9.3% in 2019 to 7.5% currently.

According to Uber’s Chief Diversity Officer, Bo Young Lee, the reduction in Black employees is linked to workforce reductions implemented earlier this year, specifically impacting approximately 40% of personnel within the community operations division, as reported to TechCrunch.

She acknowledged, “As an organization that has publicly expressed its commitment to anti-racism, this outcome is unacceptable.”

This unintended decline in Black representation at Uber “prompted significant internal reflection,” Lee stated. “Dara [Khosrowshahi] was undoubtedly concerned, as were all leaders. It highlighted how readily progress can be lost despite dedicated efforts.”

Lee explained that her diversity, equity, and inclusion team was consulted before the layoffs to minimize any disproportionate impact on specific groups.

“The challenging aspect was that our customer service organization was particularly affected,” she noted. “The overall layoff rate was 25-26% across most departments.”

However, the customer service division experienced a layoff rate of around 40%, and this area of the company had a greater concentration of Black and Latinx employees compared to other parts of Uber.

While Uber observed a decline in its overall Black employee base, it simultaneously registered a net increase in the number of women of color. Furthermore, Uber intends to begin breaking down data for the Asian and Latinx communities to provide a more detailed analysis.

Uber established its initial diversity objectives last year. These objectives included raising the percentage of women in L5 positions (manager level and above) to 35% and increasing the percentage of underrepresented employees in L4 roles (senior associate level and above) to 14% by 2022.

Currently, Uber’s workforce is comprised of 59.7% male employees, 44.8% white employees, 37.2% Asian employees, 7.5% Black employees, 8.4% Latinx employees, 1.3% multiracial employees, 0.3% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander employees, and 0.5% Native American employees.

Uber does not publish demographic information for its contingent workforce; however, numerous studies indicate that people of color constitute a substantial portion of the gig economy.

A study conducted by San Francisco’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), led by UC Santa Cruz professor Chris Benner, found that 78% of gig workers in San Francisco are people of color and 56% are immigrants.

Although Lee does not directly oversee the driver and delivery workforce, she stated that they represent a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Consequently, her team provides guidance to other Uber divisions regarding policies affecting gig workers.

Uber has experienced a complex relationship with its drivers and delivery personnel over the past several years, particularly in California. This culminated in the passage of Proposition 22, a ballot measure that maintains the classification of gig workers as independent contractors. Uber, Lyft, Instacart, and DoorDash collectively supported the measure with $206 million in funding.

Labor organizations representing gig workers opposed the proposition. Furthermore, within Uber, engineer Kurt Nelson voiced opposition to the measure, citing it as a key factor in his decision to pursue other employment opportunities.

Lee explained that the decision to support Proposition 22 was based on considering “who would benefit and who would be disadvantaged by different policies.” When examining AB 5, the California legislation that altered worker classification rules, she “observed that many independent contractor roles primarily held by white individuals were excluded from the provisions of AB 5.”

For instance, California exempted fine artists, freelance writers, still photographers, copy editors, producers, and other professions from AB 5.

“It’s possible that a different application of AB 5 would have led to a different outcome,” Lee stated, clarifying that she was expressing her personal view and not speaking on behalf of Uber. “From my perspective, Prop 22 was the appropriate course of action.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has indicated the company intends to advocate for similar legislation in other regions. While specific plans remain unclear, an Uber spokesperson stated the company will engage in discussions with stakeholders in other states and countries regarding this framework.