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Uber board member quits after making sexist joke during meeting about sexual harassment

Bonderman’s comment came just hours after the release of recommendations following an investigation into sexual harassment.

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Phillip Tracy

board member uber

The Uber board member who made a sexist joke during a meeting about how to curb sexism within the company resigned Tuesday.

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David Bonderman’s resignation was reported by the New York Times and later confirmed in a statement released by the former employee.

In his letter, Bonderman calls his comment “careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable.”

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Bonderman says the joke didn’t come across as he intended but that he takes full responsibility for the destructive effect it had.

https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/874798757321113601

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The joke was a reply to board member Arianna Huffington, who was speaking about increasing female representation on Uber’s board. The company only recently hired its second female board member in Wan Ling Martello, previously an executive at Nestle. Huffington said on Twitter that she appreciated Bonderman’s decision to step down.

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Bonderman’s joke immediately spurred outrage across social media yesterday.

https://twitter.com/meninakk/status/874977051840827393

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https://twitter.com/ColleenKIROFM/status/874973497960710144

His poorly calculated comments came just hours after Eric Holder released his recommendations to Uber following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Uber’s board members approved all 47 recommendations, many of which discuss ways of increasing diversity within the company and establishing a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.

 

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