As the days march on, Uber more and more is becoming a parody of itself.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced Tuesday that he was taking a leave of absence after the findings of an internal investigation into workplace sexual harassment — among other things — became public. Then, on the same day, board member David Bonderman resigned after making a sexist joke during a company meeting about sexism, USA TODAY reports.
Yes, this is the same organization that once dished out sex guidelines before a company party, and who recently fired 20 employees over allegations of workplace transgressions.
Bonderman’s tone-deaf crack reportedly came in response to a comment made by fellow board member Arianna Huffington, who was discussing the hiring of an additional female board member.
“There’s a lot of data that shows that when there’s one woman on the board, it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board,” Huffington said, via USA TODAY.
To which Bonderman replied: “Actually, what it shows is that it is much more likely to be more talking.”
The billionaire chairman of private equity firm TPG, one of Uber’s investors, announced his resignation from Uber’s board shortly after quipping the knee-slapper.
“I do not want my comments to create distraction as Uber works to build a culture of which we can be proud,” Bonderman said in a statement, via USA TODAY. “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 (Wednesday) morning.”
Huffington reportedly responded to Bonderman’s decision with her own statement, saying “I appreciate David doing the right thing for Uber at this time of critical cultural changes at the company.”
Bonderman’s resignation comes amid an ongoing mass exodus of top Uber executives. It’s also another stone atop a growing mountain of public-relations nightmares for the $70 billion technology company.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Financial Times
