Uber has fired its longtime head of diversity, equality and inclusion after employees complained that an employee event it moderated, titled “Don’t Call Me Karen,” was insensitive to people of color.
Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, and Nikki Krishnamurthy, the chief people officer, last week asked Bo Young Lee, the head of diversity, “to step back and take a leave of absence while we determine the next steps.” according to an e-mail on Thursday from Mrs. Krishnamurthy to some employees that was reviewed by The New York Times.
“We heard that many of you are hurting and upset by yesterday’s Moving Forward session,” the email read. “Although it was intended as a dialogue, it is clear that those present did not feel heard.”
Employee concerns centered on a pair of events, one last month and another last Wednesday, billed as “diving into the spectrum of the American white women experience” and hearing from white women who work at Uber, with a focus on ” the ‘Karen’ character.” They were intended as an “open and honest conversation about race,” according to the invitation.
But employees instead felt they were being lectured about the difficulties white women experience and why “Karen” was a derogatory term and that Ms. Lee dismissed their concerns, according to messages sent on Slack, a workplace messaging tool, which had been viewed by The Times.
The term Karen has become slang for a white woman with a sense of entitlement who often complains to a manager and reports black people and other racial minorities to authorities. Employees believed that the organizers of the event were minimizing racism and the harm white people can inflict on people of color by focusing on how “Karen” is a hurtful word, according to the reports and an employee who attended the events. A prominent “Karen” incident occurred in 2020, when Amy Cooper, a white woman, called 911 after a black man birdwatching in New York’s Central Park asked her to leash her dog.
The concerns expressed over the events underscored the difficulties companies face in navigating themes of race and identity, which have become increasingly hot topics in Silicon Valley and beyond. Cultural clashes over race and LGBTQ rights have moved to the forefront of workplaces in recent years, including the renewed focus on discrimination in hiring practices and the feud between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney over a state law restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.
At Uber, the incident was also a rare instance of disagreement among Mr. Khosrowshahi, who has steered the company away from the aggressive, chaotic culture prevalent under former CEO, Travis Kalanick. Mr. Khosrowshahi’s efforts include more diversity initiatives under Ms. Lee, who has been leading the effort since 2018. Prior to joining Uber, according to her LinkedIn profile, she held similar positions at the financial services company Marsh McLennan and other companies.
“I can confirm that Bo is currently on leave,” Noah Edwardsen, an Uber spokesperson, said in a statement. Ms Lee did not respond to a request for comment.
The first of the two Don’t Call Me Karen events, in April, was part of a series called Moving Forward – discussions about race and the experiences of underrepresented groups that emerged in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests .
Several weeks after that first event, at an Uber all-hands meeting, a black woman asked how the company would prevent “tone-deaf, offensive, and triggering conversations” from becoming part of its diversity initiatives.
Ms. Lee answered the question arguing that the Moving Forward series was meant to have difficult conversations and not meant to be comfortable.
“Sometimes it’s right to be pushed out of your own strategic ignorance,” she said, according to notes taken by an associate who attended the event. The comment sparked more employee outrage and complaints from executives, according to Slack posts and the employee.
The second of the two events, led by Mrs. Lee, was intended as a dialogue in which employees discussed what they had heard at the previous meeting.
But in Slack groups for black and Hispanic employees at Uber, employees were outraged that instead of a chance to provide feedback or dialogue, they were instead being lectured about their response to the first Don’t Call. Me Karen event.
“I felt like I was being scolded throughout the meeting,” one staff member wrote.
Another employee disagreed with the premise that the term Karen should not be used.
“I think when people are called Karens it is implied that this is someone who has little empathy for others or is bothered by minorities, others who are not like them. Like why can’t bad behavior be mentioned?” she wrote.
Employees hailed the news that Ms. Lee was leaving as a sign that Uber management was taking their complaints seriously.
One employee wrote that the company’s executives “heard us, they know we’re hurting, and they also want to understand what happened.”
