Table Of Content

UVA-OB-1218 Jun. 26, 2018 Uber: #WhatDoYouDo? You can’t believe your day started out this way. Looking at an email on your screen, all you see is the title of it: “My boss just propositioned me for sex on my first day.” The sender was a 24-year-old woman named Susan Fowler, a site reliability engineer (SRE). The date was December 4, 2015. As a rising star in the human resources group of a hip and successful tech company, you were used to headaches. They were part of your job. Handling them—the gripes and complaints of an overworked staff s. n during the hypergrowth start-up years—got you promoted to vice president at 28 years old. You are now the o si recently hired CHR of Uber, a ride-share company on the cusp of an IPO. This messy email was one of many s aterialsontactr permi issueYs oyuo ur ejuresta din htheeri teemd. a il from Fowler. Unfortunately, the words didn’t change. A screenshot from the ute. Additional men.virginia.edu. Cpublishing.com fo c“lIlea’oAmiadmdt ! s!Apt hWwaLeniWh tyrha iAcs ty khuYo a ouStth f. w wiIgn aheokstar ?takv iDntietng arag ci i.nghn kAie rstdllr,?l. o ” bfOu1ou brnt l iettih t’s,(e I V a ganllla owodrpa yZye sonie f sgt ehmleeinrmo,g t th,th oeyera h ykUoenrBuoenE—wgR? hw ,A aor!ni)rg,dk hIa ts h?hw!o!eo l’Aisuc l ngdmey twlatonianvaygeg, elttarooi u dogg flr hiatk hbete o ed SvrmRienreEkye s twt eageaniermdlks e .sh neAadedn . wdHw hrateoi!t r tBeeg uneittt, bds “My, my, my,” you say under your breath as you head to the company Box to read all the collected or redistristore.darnbusines iaWnrofhouirlnemd ya otthiuoe n wis eosrunee tawhweita hrfei ta hsocefo st heonefi ogwer nheeixcrehacl u tshtiitavute a fttiieroasntm —e imnin aadi lc eoweudap,s yleoo ndula ywy steh rthee aebtn ewcgoiilnlu nbriaeng gfeo.d lY lotoow ute adhk aewv tieth hea najno u bap lblc-yoh maan ihdnasgr dmm-eheeiettttiiinnnggg. y at de entrepreneur and board member—the more you learned, the more you realized you lacked the whole story. ope ar Now you wonder: How did you get here, and what will you do? cbld not ailas@ ase do y be avmission Clash with Human Resources Plemaper Poking through documentation, you discover that two days after the Ziegler email, Fowler sat before her direct HR supervisor, Christine Suarez, in a glass-encased conference room in Uber’s San Francisco headquarters. Fowler spoke first. “Ms. Suarez, I…” 1 Created from information in Susan Fowler’s blog post: Susan Fowler, “Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber,” Susan Fowler (blog), https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber (accessed Mar. 29, 2018). This public-sourced case was prepared by Stephen Maiden, Case Writer, Gerry Yemen, Senior Researcher, and Lynn A. Isabella, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Although the case is based on actual events, all thoughts by and conversations between real people are entirely fictional and were created for pedagogical purposes. The characters Chrissy Suarez, Vlad Ziegler, Jennifer Robinson, and Amar Gupta are also fictional. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  2018 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an email to [email protected]. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation. Our goal is to publish materials of the highest quality, so please submit any errata to [email protected]. Page 2 UVA-OB-1218 “Please call me Chrissy. You make me feel like an old maid.” “Sorry, Chrissy. Thank you for meeting with me. I’m sure you’ve seen my email and the language used by Vlad?” “I have, yes.” “Well, I know I’m new here, but this seemed incredibly inappropriate coming from my boss.” “I understand. May I ask, did you do anything to bring this on from Vlad? To encourage it?” “It was my first day! Like, the first half of my first day in the group. I had just finished two weeks of training. No. I mean, I have never met him before. So, no. Is this normal behavior from him?” s. Suarez shifted in her seat. “No. It is not. In fact, it is the first complaint HR has received about Vlad. He n o is an extremely high performer.”2 si s erialsntactpermi “But, isn’t this sexual harassment? A boss propositioning his employee for sex?” matCoor Suarez paused for a beat to look at Fowler. She was a brunette, petite, with bright brown eyes and a fit ditional nia.edu. ng.com f frinieg mua re6em0. 0bU-epbreeerdrs soFenoe wmruleerdra’ ls t Aost rohizriryoe nf rnao otmoth wminneg.e Ptbionuotg ryh.o eFura ndtghu,er iarn tagtrn at hceetvi vaSneR ggEeil’rislcs fa.i lnB Aauls trs otehuminsbd ol yon foe i fns Geteeromvdie edpw rdse.ai fOcfhenereer ,no ptf rtsioes ovSenun ac crhehazipl.d lSarihenne, Adrgishi and at one point a high school teacher.3 Fowler had been a babysitter and ranch hand who mostly taught herself ute. en.vipubli aatt tAhrei zloocnaal Slitbartaer yU.4n Nivoer hsiitgyh. Sschheo’do lw dreitgtreene .“ SShuesa hna dF oswublemr’ist tHedo am leis tS cohf oboolo” kast sthhee’ dt ohpa do ft oh reera adp tpol icwaitnio an p. lSahcee bds or redistristore.darnbusines hpasah dya stsirctausn,d soiefred ra pssthtruoildonesonomtp, yha yng di(vh ehenar d hf aebvre oelarnict kae cso cwfe phetrieged ht hbsecy h Stohtooeil c Ups)nr eiovrneeq rasu iitfsyui tloel sfs .cP Shehonelna hrssyahldvi paan,p ibpau,l itew dwh ateosrne a ’sltl h a1el0l’od ow pfe etdthi tetioo t notaepkd se Pc mheonaonthl’ss, y at de president directly to study physics. Now she was 24 years old. A physicist. A computer scientist. ope ar not cailabls@d hara“ssLmisetennt.,5 STuesxatnb. oLoekt. mOek gayiv?e B yuotu h ae rbei’ts otfh ea dtvhiicneg.. FYirosut omf aayl l,n yoets h ias vteh en oantiscwede ry teot, ybouutr tqhuise sptliaocne. iIst ais b siet xliukael Please do may be avpermission GUySocabhumem’rve. ei odT fg thTo sethat riegodnrn,o ei‘swnW. tIthhth’ esean tnd yotohoto iursf’o. r cWreo eomhvfeepfneray rnSeoyhdn e ieasr.y ssIl eutS apcatean orndnn bba eateur rgcroa uwlct.tk ahAesr t co usoanhntii.csp Bio,d ruyentor ,itu nht hgdis eot yacn kuc’itlant laugls r ukae s,,j .ot“ oAbW nmahdtae Gt,t hisotee oirasget ? laea”l rs ieYon gotthrhuoee jw uesisaentrc glrgy e eptdt a asioyannsus,.c. ’ E eBD rouiocft you understand? You’ve got a seat.” Fowler’s face corkscrewed. “I’m not sure I follow you. I’m excited to be with Uber, don’t get me wrong. But are you telling me I have to work with Vlad after that?” Suarez straightened and looked directly at Fowler. “No. You don’t have to. You have two choices: you can find another team in Uber engineering to work with or you can stay where you are. We will talk to Vlad and 2 Created from information in https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 3 Maureen Dowd, “Being Susan Fowler: How the 26-Year-Old Brought Down Uber CEO Travis Kalanick,” Economic Times, October 23, 2017, https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/being-susan-fowler-how-the-26-year-old-brought-down-uber-ceo-travis- kalanick/61180373 (accessed Mar. 30, 2018). 4 Nina Zipkin, “12 Amazing Things We Learned About Susan Fowler, the Woman Who Disrupted Uber,” Entrepreneur, October 23, 2017, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/303550 (accessed Mar. 30, 2018). 5 Created from information in https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. Page 3 UVA-OB-1218 tell him to cut it out. But that’s as far as we’ll go. Frankly, he’s too valuable to the company. He’s the type of guy around here you are better off becoming indispensable with. He’s a riser.” “That doesn’t seem like much of an option. I really want to stay on the team. I have a ton of expertise in the exact project they are struggling with.” “Then stay. Just understand that you are at risk of receiving a poor performance review from Vlad if you want to file this complaint. And if he does, it would not be considered retaliation because you have been offered a choice.”6 Fowler sat dumbfounded, looking like she’d just been startled awake. Suddenly, Suarez popped up from her chair and looked down at Fowler. “Do you still want to file the complaint?” Fowler looked up slowly and said with surprising force, “Yes.” s. n o si s A Friday Night Awakening erialsntactpermi A few months later, Fowler smiled as she walked into Uber’s spacious entry atrium. It was the usual Friday ator ditional mnia.edu. Cng.com fo ndtrheaigcrneehcente t Unlfyelb owferoro r mm,k eaa gnCrk dhpe iatonsrpe,t yser eneo a snbce haasrrte.ced hrT o ohfiidnersem c. ob TBmihlildiepou acn)na tyvion e h frruanednop dubo ster hteseepnd a c kcorieimld lihenpasgad, n iabtyn.’e sdWe bnrir attehirasaieknndn sm efacoonkrnom gtthrheodsew r oi nt$fht 1oh. .U2 ear b bcaeilrlurlr’ibisov ,vn acal o,il numUa fbtpiienolerant neh w cawiadnis tg oha pl (ramee nDaodesJdyt, Adrgishi over $50 billion and there was open talk of an IPO that would make everyone partying around her insanely ute. en.vipubli rich. bds or redistristore.darnbusines sotfa ymeFador ilwjautleae nra anli. dkTe ddhr eat nodk aa ntrocriiovn egm .e uCacrEhlyO atn oTd a rhanvaddi s l seKeaevanela tnehaicerk lly e ogffretonemnda lrweyd hp atahtr ets yhc ech uaclratgullere,e dp fatohrrte yh iFenrrgsi delalafty.e T.F Hhraeet kPheaagdr ts ytoa.n nOcdens .rc eTef hesrher ese mdh aetodll y at de the company in an interview as “Boob-er” because it helped him meet girls.7 On Mondays, stories made the ope ar rounds about who had hooked up. Panties and condoms were even discovered in the stairwells a few times. cbld ase do not y be availamissions@ Fwoowm“leeHnr o gcwroa mbhbpaesod si itan bgg eloaensnsl y go 2of5 iwn%gh ioitnef Uwyobinueerr ’asn needwn gf iognureoneudrpi na, g Sf eouwrsga aonnf?i ”zt haatesi okfneemd,8 aiJtle efn eenlntif gleiikrn eeR eaor ssbi sisnthesero hnho,a odad s.b tarirltlieadn tt op mroegerta.m Wmitehr Plemaper working on Uber’s pricing algorithm. “Great. I’m loving it. I have a ton of autonomy. Been working on a production-readiness process. I’ve even started writing a book on it.” Robinson started singing, “This girl is on fire!” “Ha! Yeah, big improvement.” “What group did you come from again?” 6 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 7 Marco della Cava, Jessica Guynn, and Jon Swartz, “Uber’s Kalanick Faces Crisis over ‘Baller’ Culture,” USA Today, February 24, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/02/24/uber-travis-kalanick-/98328660/ (accessed Mar. 29, 2018). 8 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. Page 4 UVA-OB-1218 “Micro services.” “Oooh. Vlad’s group.” “You know him?” “Girl, every woman at Uber knows Vlad—knows to stay away from him.” Fowler’s eyes went wide. “That’s why I left the group. He made these creepy comments to me. My first day!” “That’s ridiculous. Getting propositioned by Vlad is like a rite of passage. It happened to me too! You know what’s the craziest thing—that I actually reported it to HR.” s. “Me too!” said Fowler. “I even went over Vlad’s head to upper management. Nothing ever happened to n o him, though.” si s erialsntactpermi HR fAosr tsheex uwaol mhaernas csmomenpta.r Tedh es tmoroieres, tthheeyy s dpioskcoe vtehree dan tghraiet rn toh eleys asl lt hgaont. fBoeufro oref ltohnegm, ah padla nre wpoasr theadt cZhieedg.l er to ator mCo ditional nia.edu. ng.com f Back in the Conference Room Adrgishi Fowler sat with quiet confidence before Suarez two weeks later in the same conference room. All four ute. en.vipubli wbeo mtakenen w ihmom headdi arteeplyo rttoe dr eZmieogvleer ’Zs iheagrlears sfmroemnt tthoe H cRom hpada nsye.n St tnreewng mthe einti nngu mrebqeuress.t sA tlol fHouRr thoa udr gbea cthka-tto a-cbtaiocnk bds y or redistriat store.dardenbusines mcuete ttSoiun taghrsee w zc ihttohaos Sek.u tTahrheee zl ectahodam.t pHdaaenyry, f awancidell Fwnooawts blseeerr riwoemuasso tbvhuient glca aVsltm latod. .“g HSou.e s aisn n, oI tu vnideweresdta nasd ay poruor bpleomsit.”io n on Vlad. Let me ope ar cbld “But that’s not—” not ailas@ ase do y be avmission you “foLrewt amrdee dfi.n”i sh. Vlad is a top performer. He has never been reported to HR before, outside of the chats Plemaper “That’s not correct!” “It is correct, Miss Fowler.” Suarez glared across the dark oak table. “It is correct and the other women I’ve just met had nothing negative to say about Vlad either. Nothing at all. It is just you, Miss Fowler. So I suggest you drop it and return to work.” The lie was so breathtaking that Fowler simply rose from her chair, turned, and walked out the door. “Bro Culture” on Steroids For about six months, things got better. Sort of. Fowler threw herself into the job. Working alongside some of the most talented engineers in the Bay Area, Fowler persevered to meet impossible deadlines. The work was stimulating and intense and the growth in the company’s value was dizzying. Fowler’s restricted stock units Page 5 UVA-OB-1218 were rising. On a calendar, Fowler ticked off each day to the vesting date when she would own her stock, free and clear. But cultural problems continued to surface. Robinson told Fowler about the infamous “Miami letter” that Kalanick had emailed to the 400 Uber employees in 2013 before an all-expense-paid party weekend to Florida’s Shore Club. Therein, the CEO had offered advice on avoiding a $200 “puke charge,” drug use, and throwing beer kegs off buildings.9 He had also advised, “Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS a) you have asked that person for that privilege and they have responded with an emphatic ‘YES! I will have sex with you’ AND b) the two (or more) of you do not work in the same chain of command. Yes, that means that Travis will be celibate on this trip #CEOLife #FML.”10 Then there were tales from the “workstation” in Las Vegas during the summer of 2015, just before Fowler joined the company. Beyoncé performed at the rooftop bar of the Palms Hotel. Employees lounged by the pool, drank, and hit nightclubs. Cocaine use was rampant in the bathrooms at private parties.11 One employee s. n hijacked a private shuttle bus, filled it with friends, and took it on a joy ride. A director shouted a homophobic o si slur at a subordinate during a meeting.12 A manager groped several female co-workers’ breasts and was fired 12 s erialsntactpermi hours later. ator And it wasn’t just the “bro culture,” as Fowler referred to it. At one team meeting, Fowler watched in mCo ditional nia.edu. ng.com f hfWaovororrors trw oaifts h aa lal , d tihitr iewrcdot orekrx eebdco.u aFtsiovtewed tl eoar b akodnvueatw nw cUiet bhhehisro pcldariirndegeed rc. 1ir3ti stUieclnaf blo einnli feboveraimnbglay ta,i otmhnee f rdritoiormeccr taaocnryo ratehncedor u henaxdtee cd1u4 tt hisvteea s teitnod r ocyur wdlteiutrhr at aol v scamulurilreeys. ute. Aden.virgipublishi (wEhxichhi bhiat d1 )d sruivcehn a gs r“eLate tg brouwildthe.r1s4 bBuuiltd F,”o “wAlelrw aalysso b sea whu dsotlwinn’,s”i d“eTso. e-stepping,” and “Principled confrontation,” bds One day she emailed her boss, Amar Gupta, after other engineers she respected transferred to a less chaotic or redistristore.darnbusines ethneg inneexetr idnagy .o rganization in the company. Fowler asked for a transfer too. Gupta called Fowler into his office y at de “I can’t transfer you,” he said. ope ar cbld not ailas@ “Why not? I received a perfect performance score in my last review. That’s the requirement.” ase do y be avmission “You are not being technical enough.”15 Plemaper “Technical? I’ve never missed a deadline and other managers are waiting for me to join their team.” “You’ve had undocumented performance problems, Susan.”16 9 Kara Swisher and Johanna Bhuiyan, “ Uber CEO Kalanick Advised Employees on Sex Rules for a Company Celebration in 2013 ‘Miami Letter,’” Recode, June 8, 2017, https://www.recode.net/2017/6/8/15765514/2013-miami-letter-uber-ceo-kalanick-employees-sex-rules-company-celebration (accessed Mar. 29, 2018). 10 https://www.recode.net/2017/6/8/15765514/2013-miami-letter-uber-ceo-kalanick-employees-sex-rules-company-celebration. 11 Mike Issac, “Inside Uber’s Aggressive, Unrestrained Workplace Culture,” New York Times, February 22, 2017. 12 Issac. 13 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 14 Rodrigo Bastos, “Toxic Organizational Culture and Lessons Learned from Uber,” Target Teal, August 14, 2017, https://targetteal.com/en/blog/uber-organizational-culture/ (accessed Jun. 14, 2018) 15 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 16 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. Page 6 UVA-OB-1218 Fowler decided not to push. At the next review season, Fowler received another perfect score.17 She let a few more months pass and then approached Gupta again to transfer. “I’m sorry, Susan, your performance review was updated after the official reviews were, uh, calibrated. So you’re not eligible for transfer.” Fowler saw red. “What calibration? You can’t just change my performance without telling me!” “I’m telling you now. Besides, management doesn’t believe you are demonstrating enough upward career trajectory.”18 Fowler shook her head. “But I’m publishing a book with O’Reilly. I’m speaking at major tech conferences. What else—” s. “This conversation is over. You need to prove yourself as an engineer. Transferring teams is a privilege.” n o si s That night, Fowler realized that the altered performance review would also cost her a spot in the Uber- erialsntactpermi staprognesteodr.e dC oSrtnanerfeodrd. F Coor mthpeu ftiresrt Sticmieen icne yPeraorsg,r sahme schriee’dd. bBeuetn s htaek ailnsgo dreurreiandg hneirg hemts palnody ewe eceoknetnradcst. 1a9n Fdo Gwoleorg fleeldt ator mCo California’s discrimination laws for the first time. ditional nia.edu. ng.com f Leather Jackets and Sexism Adrgishi bute. den.vispubli femaBley efnalgl in2e0e1r6s, hfaedm dalreo pepnegdin teoe rlse sws etrhea nv o6t%in.g20 aFboowutle Ur ebveern’s obvreor hceualtrudr eh ewr imtha nthaegierr fbeoeta.s tTinhge apbeorcuet nkteaegpei nogf or redistristore.darnbusines halel.r Eovne hryis t itmeaem a bseecxaisuts eem ita mil awdaes hseimnt ,l osohke fgoorowda rtod esdti lilt htoa vHe Rw otom keene pw oa rrkeicnogr dw igtohi nhgim. . Fowler documented it y at de Things came to a head over leather jackets, of all things. The head of engineering took measurements to ope ar fit each of the 126 engineers for a leather jacket as a reward for reaching a goal. One day, the women received not cailabls@d awnr oetme atihl astt,a “tiInfg y tohue yw coomueldnn r’te ajullsyt iwfya nptla ecqinuga laitny ,o yrodue rs fhooru tlhde rmea sliiznec ey othue arere w geerteti nogn leyq suixa liwtyo mbye nn.o Tt hgeet tdiinrge ctthoer ase do y be avmission jmacokreet sp.e21r Bjaecckaeut sfeo rth tehree waroem seon m. Iafn yyo mu ceann, wfine dc alena tohredre rja tchkeeitrss fionr bthuelk m. Ietn ws’o buuldlkn ’dt ibsceo fuanirt ttoh atth yeo mu elink et,o w sep ecnand Plemaper do that. Best I can offer.” Again, Fowler forwarded the email chain to HR. The following week, Suarez didn’t rise as Fowler strode into the same glass-encased conference room. Fowler sat down at the same dark table, waiting for Suarez to look up from a notebook. “I’ve received your emails, Miss Fowler. All of them. About many things. This week you’ve emailed me about leather jackets.” “Yes.” 17 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 18 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 19 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 20 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 21 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. Page 7 UVA-OB-1218 “Yes. Leather jackets.” Suarez fixed Fowler with scalding eyes. “Have you noticed, Miss Fowler, that the common theme in all these reports you’ve been making is you?”22 “Me?” “You. It seems to me, and to all of us in HR, that you might be the problem.” “That’s ridiculous! I’m not even a main character in most of the sexist situations I’ve forwarded you. It’s all been documented. I’m certainly not an instigator.” “It’s all been documented? Honey, there’s not even a firm record outside of your reports that any of these incidents even happened.”23 Fowler set her jaw. “That is simply wrong. I have email and chat records I can show you with other female s. engineers around each incident.” n o si s “Oh is that right? Do you all talk a lot? How unprofessional. You do know we’re trying to run a business, erialsntactpermi nooftte na gyoosus iapr eh toaulksein. gY. oWu hkanto ywo uw ahraet ?ta”l kSiunagr eazb’os uvto. iWce hwaet netm sahirl ialld. d“rIe wssaenst ytoou k anlol wus ew. hWo hyaotu c ahraet traolkoimngs tyoo.u H uoswe. ator mCo Blogs. Facebook groups. Give me everything.” ditional nia.edu. ng.com f probFleomw lhere rsea ta ts tUilbl earn. dI fb yeocuam caen v’te srye ec iatl,m I .c “anN’to .h eI lpw oyonu’t. dYoo uth matu. sTt hheasvee wato lmeaesnt naroet icmeyd fhroiewn dms.a nTyh weroem ise na Adrgishi have left the engineering group recently.” ute. en.vipubli “That’s not my problem,” Suarez seethed. “Different people are better suited to different jobs. Different bds or redistristore.darnbusines gTehnisd eisr st.h De imffoerset nvta eluthabnliec istiteasr.t -Dupo nin’t tghivee h misteo grye nodfe Sr irliactoions ,V Malilsesy !F Tohwilse ris. Wa me earriet ohcerraec yto!” d o a job. The best job. y at de Fowler rose to leave. “I’ve got to go.” ope ar not cailabls@d “Go and do your job!” Suarez shouted. ase do y be avmission The Final Straw Plemaper Things started moving quickly after that. Just five days later, Gupta invited Fowler into the office normally used for reviews. “I heard about your run-in with HR. I’m afraid we’ve got to have a difficult conversation, Susan.” Fowler’s body tensed in her chair. “Okay.” “You’re on thin ice here for reporting my manager, our group head, to HR24 over this leather jacket thing. I’m not sure what you were thinking. See, California is an at-will employment state, which means we can fire you if you ever do this sort of thing again. And I will.” Fowler’s eyes spread wide. “That’s illegal. You just threatened me.” 22 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 23 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 24 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. Page 8 UVA-OB-1218 “Illegal? Look, I’ve managed people for years in this state. I know what’s illegal. I’m telling you facts. You keep reporting things to HR, you’ll be fired. Facts. Nothing illegal about it.” After the meeting Fowler reported the threat to HR and to Uber’s CTO, who both admitted the threat had been illegal.25 But still, nothing was done about it. A week later, in December 2016, Fowler found a new job. On her last day at Uber, she calculated that of over 150 engineers, just 3% were women.26 The Blog Post Drops and Here You Are Two months later, Fowler decided to write a blog post about “one very, very strange year at Uber.”27 She had already started working as the editor-in-chief of Increment, dubbed “The New Yorker of Silicon Valley,” for the payment-processing company Stripe, but the questions hadn’t stopped from friends and colleagues. Why had she left Uber? Fowler was brutally honest in her post. About the sexual harassment, the sexism, the bro s. n culture, the failures of HR and in senior management. The blog post dropped February 19, 2017. Within hours, o si it went viral. Fowler was forced to disable the comment section because there were too many to keep up with, s erialsntactpermi good and bad. ator The arresting accusations hit Uber’s management like an earthquake. The press covered every development. mCo Additional rginia.edu. shing.com f AtKeoxna tsledaint nt tshi icoidskfe . i -tsTbh whye- ehss eiimtdrueeea eywttiooiinutnhg n jAwuoswratisa s gnbiotai,tl l Hwegdriute hfaafsitin ne“ rgds.t ea olyfns- ,ro effof laue cnctdoivemer p,o”a fan Hsy -buweffiiidnngegt omanb ePoeoutsittn “agcn tldoe a tdrhiinesc gou tnshslye t hwaieor ”pm oaasnntd. o Y“nbo Ueui nbwgei rlhl’ sbo ben oeesaxtrp.d”e, c Tatnehdde ute. en.vipubli What are you going to do? bds or redistristore.darnbusines y at de ope ar cbld not ailas@ ase do y be avmission Plemaper 25 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 26 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. 27 https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber. Page 9 UVA-OB-1218 Exhibit 1 Uber: #WhatDoYouDo? 14 Uber Cultural Values Uber Mission Customer Obsession Celebrate Cities Make Big, Bold Bets Meritocracy and Toe-Stepping Make Magic Principled Confrontation Be an Owner, Not a Renter Winning: Champion’s Mindset Be Yourself Let Builders Build Optimistic Leadership s. n Always Be Hustlin’ Just Change o si s erialsntactpermi SAouugrucset: 1R4o, d20ri1g7o, hBtatsptso:/s,/ t“aTrgoextitce aOl.crogman/izeant/iobnloagl /Cuubletur-roe rgaanndi zLateisosnoanl-sc uLletuarrne/ed ( afcrcoemss eUd bMera,r”. 3T0a, r2g0e1t 8T) eal, ator mCo ditional nia.edu. ng.com f Adrgishi ute. en.vipubli bds or redistristore.darnbusines y at de ope ar cbld not ailas@ ase do y be avmission Plemaper