Uber Board Member’s Sexist Remarks During Meeting About Sexism Leads To Resignation

Talk about irony. A board member at Uber has just announced his resignation following reports of inappropriate remarks about women during a meeting with sexism as the main agenda. The board member in question is David Bonderman and he is resigning after stating that there would be more talking during meetings if there were more female board members.

The meeting was held last Tuesday, which is meant to involve discussions regarding the investigations into the multiple allegations of discrimination against female workers at Uber. At the time, board member Arianna Huffington brought up the idea that even one female presence at the board opens the door to others, The New York Times reports.

“Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” Bonderman told her in response, likely as a jest.

No matter the intent behind the remark, however, it was clearly ill-timed and ill-thought, especially considering the topic of the meeting. This resulted in a barrage of angry messages to the executives at the company complaining about Bonderman.

Although he did issue an apology, it was clear that resignation would be the board member’s only means of proving his commitment to combatting sexism in the company. In the statement that he released, Bonderman accepted all responsibility and expressed his desire to clear a path to the improvement of the company.

“I do not want my comments to create distraction as Uber works to build a culture of which we can be proud. I need to hold myself to the same standards that we’re asking Uber to adopt. Therefore, I have decided to resign from Uber’s board of directors, effective tomorrow morning,” the statement reads.

In response to his actions, Huffington also expressed gratitude towards Bonderman for making the right choice, Business Insider reports. Remaining at Uber would have derailed any progress that the company’s executives were trying to make in creating a more inclusive work environment.