A Jewish director at cab giant Uber has resigned after making what was seen as a sexist remark during a meeting about sexism within the firm.
Billionaire David Bonderman, 74, appeared to imply that women are not as serious in business as men in a discussion with Arianna Huffington, the founder of the Huffington Post who is also an Uber director.
Ms Huffington had announced at the meeting that a new female executive would be joining the board, the Times reported.
“There’s a lot of data that shows when there’s one woman on the board, it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board,” she said.
But just minutes into the meeting, Mr Bonderman interjected: “Actually, what it shows is it’s much more likely to be more talking.”
An irritated Ms Huffington responded by saying: “Oh. Come on, David.”
The meeting was aimed at addressing the “frat house” culture at the multi-million dollar company. Amongst other issues, Uber recently fired more than 20 staff after an investigation into sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
Mr Bonderman’s comments led to a flurry of angry emails between staff and management, after which he decided to step down.
In a statement, he said: “I need to hold myself to the same standards that we’re asking Uber to adopt. Therefore, I have decided to resign from Uber’s board of directors.”
