In the latest edition of "seriously bad publicity for Uber," board member David Bonderman has resigned after making a sexist comment during a meeting. The remark was made at a Tuesday meeting that was aimed at addressing the harassment of women and other unprofessional conduct within the ride-hailing company. (Yes, really.)
When Bonderman's fellow board member, Arianna Huffington, explained the benefits of having more female representation on the board, the private equity partner jumped at the opportunity to interrupt her so he could crack a joke.
"There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board," Huffington explained, according to fellow attendees.
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"Actually," Bonderman interposed, "what it shows is, it's much more likely there'll be more talking."
His "joke" deservedly fell flat and attendees where "aghast," according to The New York Times.
Several hours later, Bonderman resigned and released the following statement: "Uber is examining the issues with its culture, and making significant changes and working to right what has been done wrong, which is extremely important for the future of the company. I do not want my comments to create distraction as Uber works to build a culture of which we can be proud. I need to hold myself to the same standards that we're asking Uber to adopt."
Bonderman also personally apologized to Huffington, who issued her own statement that he'd made the right decision to resign: "I appreciate David doing the right thing for Uber at this time of critical cultural changes at the company."
Bonderman's resignation follows on the heels of Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick's decision to take a leave of absence amidst a series of scandals that have prompted the company to overhaul its culture.