Uber fires staff after sexual harassment investigation

Taxi-app firm Uber has fired more than 20 people after an internal sexual harassment investigation. The firm has also hired a Harvard Business professor to help it mend its ways.

Uber has been under public scrutiny over its treatment of women after a former employee wrote a scathing blog post about her experience.

Susan Fowler, the blog post’s author, said the company had ignored her complaints of sexual harassment. Widely shared, the blog prompted Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick to launch the investigations.

Law firm Perkins Coie was hired to look into specific complaints, which ultimately covered 215 claims of misconduct. The firm recommended no action in 100 of them; 57 remain under review, while others have received warnings or are in training.

Uber has appointed Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under former US President Barack Obama, to investigate the company’s broader culture.

Frances Fei, a Harvard Business School professor, will serve as a senior vice president for leadership and strategy, working with the head of human resources Liane Hornsey.

About 36% of Uber’s 12,000 employees are female, according to a report the firm published earlier this year. Women hold about 15% of the technology positions.

Joni Hersch, in her article Sexual harassment in the workplace, writes, “Sexual harassment in the workplace increases absenteeism and turnover and lowers workplace productivity and job satisfaction.” She points out that sexual harassment is widely underreported, in part because workers are justifiably concerned that reporting may lead to retaliation and an even worse work environment.