What Uber is Doing to Foster an Inclusive Workplace (As told by an Uber employee)
I recently headed down to Chicago to visit the Uber headquarters to meet with one of the UberHue team members, which aims to promote black diversity, culture, and inclusion. I talked a little bit about their employee resource groups (ERGs) in a previous post (read that post here), specifically Women of Uber. Their goal is to create a workplace that is inclusive and reflects the diversity of the cities they serve—where everyone can be their authentic self, and where that authenticity is celebrated as a strength.
I spent the day with Simyra Campbell who is a Chicago Community Support Representative at Uber. She’s been working at Uber for 3 years and on the board at UberHue for 1 year. She describes UberHue as a safe place for Black people to express their ideas and pain points. “When we’re at work it’s hard to find the courage to speak up about the things that occur at work that might be bothering us without feeling like we will be penalized for it. UberHue is building a legacy that screams we are here for you, we care about you and we are here to be a resource for you”, Simyra shared.
I remember when I worked a corporate job (years ago). There was nothing like this for us back then. It was come to work, get your tasks done, go home, and repeat. No one cared whether or not you felt misunderstood as a Black woman or that they weren’t any opportunities available for you because you were Black. Simyra’s experience is different thanks to UberHue. She shared that since joining UberHue she’s been privy to a lot of opportunities. She’s worked alongside CEOs and stakeholders that she would not have met otherwise. Simyra believes that UberHue models the old cliche quote, “Happy Wife, Happy Life” in that if your employees are happy, your brand will thrive. I did a huge aha-like sigh when Simyra shared this with me. So many brands get this wrong. So many brands aren’t willing to grow in areas like diversity.
She went on to praise Uber by mentioning that their ERG programs aren’t just for Black people. Uber has also created Los Ubers, UberParents, Women of Uber and more. In total there are 14 employee resource groups at Uber. They also have diversity and inclusions training for their employees. Simyra says, “We have to find ways to actively counteract the negative things that are going on in the world and find a safe place in the middle to be able to still be positive in our day-to-day, UberHue does that.”
Simyra took me on a tour throughout the office and I met other UberHue members. What I left with was that they really loved working there and they are all family.
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Disclosure: While this post is sponsored by Uber, you beauties know that all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make my blog possible!