Uber’s program of hiring women techies for women empowerment is a significant move
Uber, a ride-hailing company, plans to hire 800 additional women techies by the end of the year, at a time when many other tech businesses are laying off women at work due to macroeconomic uncertainties.
Specifically, the hiring is for two programs as part of Uber’s program launched this year towards women empowerment. After taking a career sabbatical, women in IT with positions such as product managers and engineers can re-enter the workforce through the uReturn program meant for rehiring hiring women.
The company also announced Pinnacle, a trial programme that offers flexible and remote working choices in the fields of tech operations, mapping, and machine learning and is geared at returning women at work. Around 150 women techies have already joined Uber through these two programmes. It now has intentions to hire 800 more people by the following year.
Megha Yethadka, senior director of programme management technology and head of global scaled solutions at Uber, stated in an interview that “we would quadruple these to 800 next year.” “Great minds don’t think alike is one of our company’s core values. The basis of how we work at Uber is onboarding people with varied viewpoints, and these initiatives sharpen our focus on that.
In India, Uber employs 1400 full-time IT personnel. It intends to hire 800 women techies in the computer industry, who will work under a contract and according to their flexibility. According to Uber, women at work make up 25% of the labour force in India, and many of them quit their jobs to take care of their families. Most never return to the labour because they have few opportunities for doing so.
Despite the fact that Uber’s program places a high premium on diversity and inclusion, the company claims that recruiting women has improved quality and productivity.
The deliverables and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) from this workforce are on par with or better than the average employees, according to Yethadka. “We’re incredibly impressed with how well-done their deliverables are. They appear to be really involved, as well.
Yethadka claimed that while employment grew in the sector last year, most businesses experienced double-digit attrition. Yethadka stated that “our attrition relating to this workforce (women) was in single digits. We periodically do a satisfaction survey, and they consistently scored above 90%, indicating that they are extremely content with both the work they are performing and the potential to advance their careers.
In order to help women enjoy their full-time roles, Uber has developed a systematic onboarding process and buddy programme as part of uReturn. With Pinnacle, the programme is only for working from home and gives employees the freedom to set their own hours. This makes it easier for women to divide their time between employment and household duties as they see fit.
As they transition back into the corporate world, the company offers training, on-the-job learning opportunities, and a network to help them restore their abilities. These include single mothers, family breadwinners, women who are the primary carers for the old or young, as well as women who are physically or mentally challenged.
According to experts, the proportion of women entering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-related disciplines is equal to that of men. At management and higher levels, nevertheless, there is a decline in this female representation. According to a survey by 451 Research, women currently make up 34% of the IT workforce in India, and STEM graduates have a 50:50 gender split. The ‘next difficulty,’ according to the article, is maintaining gender diversity in middle management and leadership positions.
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