Social Media can be a pain. And it can even assist illegal and immoral actions. It can also be the catalyst for good things. In the case of Uber and a Blog Post, it was the latter.
Just four months ago, Susan Fowler, a former engineer at Uber, posted on her personal blog. Now, four months later, it feels like THE WITCH HIS DEAD THE WITCH IS DEAD. CEO and founder Travis Kalanick is out for good following an “I’m taking a vacation” exit. In telling her story, Ms. Fowler accused various members of Uber’s management team of:
- explicit sexual harassment
- gender discrimination
- intentional deception
- career sabotage
- illegal threats of termination of employment
Quickly these allegations snowballed, turning Uber’s world upside down.
Since Ms. Fowler published her account, the following events took place:
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder began a major investigation into the company’s practices and management style
- Numerous executives fled the company on their own volition (or were soon fired)
- Another 20 employees were fired over claims of inappropriate behavior
- A prominent member of Uber’s board resigned after a comment was leaked that many felt was sexist
- Uber brought aboard Wan Ling Martello, head of Nestle Asia, as its second female board member
- Uber loses market share to chief competitor Lyft
- Travis Kalanick, Uber’s founder, resigns as CEO
Why what is happens at a 70 billion dollar transportation company important to you?
For one thing, humans everywhere should feel uplifted that sometimes wrong is righted and the unjust is made just. Secondly, an individual can still make a difference in this complex world. And thirdly, even a CEO and/or founder can be held accountable.
Cars, guns and the Internet can be used for the good or for the bad. The good guys won this fight. We should all rejoice.
