Uber Investigating ‘Abhorrent’ Sexual Harassment Claims

The hashtag #DeleteUber is making a comeback as news of the company’s alleged abhorrent sexual harassment practices has come to light. Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, has just written about her sexual harassment experience with Uber.

Here is what she claims:

1. When Fowler first joined the Uber team, her manager relayed the fact that he was in an open relationship and that he was looking for women to have sex with. This inappropriate chat prompted Fowler to take screenshots and report him to HR.
2. Instead of settling the issue, HR and upper management told Fowler that, though it was indeed sexual harassment, it was his first and only offense. She was then told he was a high performer, and would likely only receive a warning.
3. Fowler was then told she could make a choice, either move to another team and never have contact with him again, or stay on the team and be take the risk of receiving a bad performance review from her superior.
4. When Fowler said she’d like to remain on her current team because it suited her expertise, the HR manager told her that, because she‘d had the option to leave, she could not claim retaliation if she received a poor performance review. Fowler decided to then move to another team.
5. Fowler began to talk with other female engineers in the company and realized that many had similar stories to hers. HR even told these women the same thing, that it was his first offense.
6. When Fowler tried to transfer, she was told her case was being held up due to an undocumented performance problem (though she had never received a bad performance review.) Her transfer was denied because ‘performance problems aren’t always something that has to do with work, but sometimes can be about things outside of work or your personal life.’

After reading Fowler‘s harassment and discrimination claims, Uber‘s CEO, Travis Kalanick, ordered an investigation. Arianna Huffington, an Uber board member, supports the investigation and would like to see all guilty parties fired if the evidence supports it. Such claims usually come about through lawsuits.

What do you think of this being posted on a blog by the person being harassed?