4 ms·

A woman with a perspective on the diversity and culture they need to create seems uniquely qualified for the role.

toehead2000 9y ago
Also maybe some knowledge of the transportation business!
throwaway-1209 9y ago
"Diversity hiring" is a double edged sword though. There's a stigma attached to it which is really hard to overcome even if you're good.
- pgodzin 9y ago
  It's crazy that hiring a woman to be the second woman on a board is considered "diversity hiring" though. It's not a super minority that is being looked for to tout diversity, it's half the population! I'm sure there are women who are both utterly qualified AND can provide a perspective on the more inclusive culture they are trying to create.
  - throwaway-1209 9y ago
    Hiring a woman is not crazy in the least. Hiring a woman because she's a woman over a more qualified male candidate (or the other way around) is harmful. There are plenty of women who don't need such "help".
    - pgodzin 9y ago
      Not sure why we immediately need to jump to the trope that a more qualified male candidate would be passed over. You're treating a seat on the board as if were some sort of technical role with hard skills. It's not - it's a role to be a positive and influential voice within a company dealing with a toxic culture. Being a successful woman and having all the experiences and perspectives that come with that is literally part of their qualification for the position.
      - throwaway-1209 9y ago
        I did nothing of the sort. You're trying to put words in my mouth, and I don't play these kinds of games. Bye.
      - whitemale 9y ago
        > Not sure why we immediately need to jump to the trope that a more qualified male candidate would be passed over. This is the original piece comment we are talking about: > He needs to be replaced by a woman It's evident that the objective is to hire a women, not to hire a qualified person, therefore a less qualified person can be hired just because she is a women. A person hired like this would most likely not get too much respect because she had an advantage not because of her skill, but her gender. > Being a successful woman and having all the experiences and perspectives that come with that See my question in another comment.
tmalsburg2 9y ago
Replacing Bonderman with "a woman" will not magically solve issues around sexism. There is quite a bit of research, for instance on academic hiring, showing that women often have the same or at least similar sexist biases against women as men. See also the research on implicit stereotypes showing that both men and women associate men with traits related to strength and power and women with traits related to weakness. A female board member would probably not make stupid comments like Bonderman's but that alone is not going to change the toxic culture at Uber.
- pgodzin 9y ago
  Not sure what straw man you are arguing against, certainly never said it would "magically solve issues around sexism" or that "alone" is "enough to change the toxic culture". We are talking about the role of board member - which comes with the impact of immediately being one of the most powerful and influential voices within Uber. Bonderman's voice spoke volumes today about the culture the company previously condoned, and a new female board member could potentially have a far greater positive impact promoting a more inclusive culture. By definition, one person can't change a company culture, but could set an example and set the ball rolling.
  - tmalsburg2 9y ago
    Sorry, my previous comment wasn't clear enough. Perhaps I misunderstood you, but you seemed to suggest that being female would uniquely qualify a new board member to promote a more diverse and inclusive culture. The research that I referred to suggests that this may not be the case or at least not as much as you might think.
whitemale 9y ago
Are you implying that men are incapable of those sensibilities?

toehead2000 9y ago

Also maybe some knowledge of the transportation business!

"Diversity hiring" is a double edged sword though. There's a stigma attached to it which is really hard to overcome even if you're good.

pgodzin 9y ago
It's crazy that hiring a woman to be the second woman on a board is considered "diversity hiring" though. It's not a super minority that is being looked for to tout diversity, it's half the population! I'm sure there are women who are both utterly qualified AND can provide a perspective on the more inclusive culture they are trying to create.
- throwaway-1209 9y ago
  Hiring a woman is not crazy in the least. Hiring a woman because she's a woman over a more qualified male candidate (or the other way around) is harmful. There are plenty of women who don't need such "help".
  - pgodzin 9y ago
    Not sure why we immediately need to jump to the trope that a more qualified male candidate would be passed over. You're treating a seat on the board as if were some sort of technical role with hard skills. It's not - it's a role to be a positive and influential voice within a company dealing with a toxic culture. Being a successful woman and having all the experiences and perspectives that come with that is literally part of their qualification for the position.
    - throwaway-1209 9y ago
      I did nothing of the sort. You're trying to put words in my mouth, and I don't play these kinds of games. Bye.
    - whitemale 9y ago
      > Not sure why we immediately need to jump to the trope that a more qualified male candidate would be passed over. This is the original piece comment we are talking about: > He needs to be replaced by a woman It's evident that the objective is to hire a women, not to hire a qualified person, therefore a less qualified person can be hired just because she is a women. A person hired like this would most likely not get too much respect because she had an advantage not because of her skill, but her gender. > Being a successful woman and having all the experiences and perspectives that come with that See my question in another comment.

tmalsburg2 9y ago

Replacing Bonderman with "a woman" will not magically solve issues around sexism. There is quite a bit of research, for instance on academic hiring, showing that women often have the same or at least similar sexist biases against women as men. See also the research on implicit stereotypes showing that both men and women associate men with traits related to strength and power and women with traits related to weakness. A female board member would probably not make stupid comments like Bonderman's but that alone is not going to change the toxic culture at Uber.

pgodzin 9y ago
Not sure what straw man you are arguing against, certainly never said it would "magically solve issues around sexism" or that "alone" is "enough to change the toxic culture". We are talking about the role of board member - which comes with the impact of immediately being one of the most powerful and influential voices within Uber. Bonderman's voice spoke volumes today about the culture the company previously condoned, and a new female board member could potentially have a far greater positive impact promoting a more inclusive culture. By definition, one person can't change a company culture, but could set an example and set the ball rolling.
- tmalsburg2 9y ago
  Sorry, my previous comment wasn't clear enough. Perhaps I misunderstood you, but you seemed to suggest that being female would uniquely qualify a new board member to promote a more diverse and inclusive culture. The research that I referred to suggests that this may not be the case or at least not as much as you might think.

whitemale 9y ago

Are you implying that men are incapable of those sensibilities?