Engineer Who Exposed Uber's Culture Crisis Calls Internal Investigation "All Optics"
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Susan Fowler, the former Uber software engineer whose viral blog alleging systemic sexism and harassment prompted the company to launch an internal investigation, called that investigation "all optics" on Tuesday. Fowler's criticism came after Uber released the findings of the probe, outlining dozens of recommendations that the ride-hail giant's board says it plans to implement. The company said last week that it has investigated more than 200 claims of harassment and discrimination, among other allegations, and fired 20 people as a result.
Liane Hornsey, Uber's chief human resources officer, spoke to employees at an all-hands meeting on Tuesday announcing the report's findings. She thanked Fowler during the meeting for being a catalyst for change at the company.
Fowler did not return a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.
Days after Fowler published her blog on February 19, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick met with more than 100 female engineers at the company. During the meeting, he promised “credible, thorough justice” via an internal investigation by former attorney general Eric Holder. Kalanick was grilled by the engineers, who urged him to begin “listening to your own people,” according to an audio recording obtained by BuzzFeed News. "Everyone who’s in these rooms now ... believes that there is a systemic problem here," another participant said, prompting applause.
On Sunday, Uber's board voted unanimously to adopt all the recommendations made in the Holder report, which we've outlined here.