David Bonderman, an Uber board member with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, made an interesting comment during a company all-hands meeting today. Arianna Huffington, another Uber board member, was briefing the company on the results of an internal harassment investigation led by former Attorney General Eric Holder. Investigators had 13 pages of recommended changes Uber should make to its corporate policies, structure, and culture to create a more inclusive and fair workplace. But it seems like Bonderman didn't get the message.
While Huffington was talking about adding another woman to Uber's board (she's the only one), she pointed out an interesting statistic. “There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board.” This is where Bonderman interjects with a helpful comment. “Actually,” Bonderman says, “what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking.”
“Ohh. Come on, David,” Huffington replied. To recap, this exchange happened during a meeting about systemic gender discrimination and sexual harassment within Uber.
Bonderman has already apologized, saying he “deeply regrets,” the remark.
