Uber’s tumultuous six months of scandal is likely to mark the first of many equality crises in the tech industry, according to Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China, Benioff warned that tech giants would need to take their capabilities to another level in order to avoid the chaos which rocked Uber.
Travis Kalanick, the former chief executive at the transportation colossus, resigned from his position last week in the face of pressure from Uber’s five largest investors.
“I think because equality is more dominant in our industry than ever before, you saw that when (Kalanick’s) employees started to write a very strong narrative about how that was not valued inside that leadership team… It became a crisis of equality,” Benioff told CNBC on Tuesday.
“That will not be the last crisis of equality that you will see in the tech industry. I think it’s just one at the beginning of several,” he added.
Kalanick stepped down as Uber CEO on June 20. The New York Times reported several board members demanded Kalanick leave the company after a string of sexual harassment and discrimination allegations against the company’s leadership surfaced.
In February, Susan Fowler – a former Uber employee – published an account alleging sexual harassment and gender bias during her time at the company.
The account, titled “Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber” claimed there were multiple instances where managers and human resources representatives acted poorly.
“When Ms Fowler started to talk about what was going on at Uber, that just amplified I think that many people in our industry and I think in other industries want to see more equality,” Benioff concluded.
Source: cnbc
Uber scandal will not be the last crisis of equality for tech industry, says Salesforce CEO