While the announcement could be a publicity stunt for a company that has generated a large amount of negative press, Uber management said with regard to its plans to help female workers worldwide that it would add a million jobs for women drivers. However, Uber may not grow large enough to reach that goal.
In a statement that rested on an endorsement of the United Nations, the ride-sharing service announced:
In 1995, world leaders followed a call by the United Nations and gathered in Beijing to produce an unprecedented plan for advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women everywhere.
Today, on the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, we are proud to share with The Uber Community that we are embarking on a new global partnership with UN Women with the goal of accelerating economic opportunity for women. As part of our commitment to this goal, Uber will create 1,000,000 jobs for women as drivers on the Uber platform by 2020.
The press release was signed by Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Whether the move is meant to burnish Uber’s image, it does carry two pieces of potential good news. Women typically do have trouble when seeking the same jobs as men. Presumably, most of Uber’s current workforce is male. For Uber investors, the notion that it could add a million employees of any kind is extraordinary. It would mean Uber’s global business will explode over the next five years. Some outsiders might be skeptical about the huge advance. Uber’s ambitions have been blocked in some cities around the world. Local services, which include cab companies, are furious about new competition.
Uber raised $1.2 billion late last year, at a valuation of $40 billion. The company will need impressive growth to justify the figure. If it can add a million female drivers between now and 2020, surging growth will be essential. However, in reality the goal is nothing more than a guess, which makes it subject to conditions that Uber may be unable to fulfill.
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