One of the most notable episodes of A Different World was when Whitley Gilbert (played by Jasmine Guy) was being sexually harassed by her superior at work and created an elaborate scheme to catch him in the act. Now in 2017, things are not much better for women in the workplace as Uber joins the list on of companies under fire for numerous sexual harassment claims.
According to published reportsTuesday (Jun 6), Uber fired over 20 employees after CEO, Travis Kalanick immediately requested an investigation into the claims from all levels of the company after a series of internal investigations into a claim by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler that the company failed to act on sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints.
According to CNBC, Over 215 claims were examined resulting in 100 claims left with no actions taken, including claims of sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination. In addition to the internal investigations, a separate investigation led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was also conducted, with an executive summary of his report set to be released and discussed on Tuesday (Jun 13). Kalanick has not seen Holder’s report yet nor was he present at the time when the firings were released due to a tragic death in his family.
What is absolutely appalling about this case, is that the former head of human resources at the start of the investigation said that the company does not have any systemic sexual harassment, just Susan. Placing the blame on Susan Fowler for originally spilling the tea in an explosive blog post earlier this year.
But this is not the first time that Uber has been under fire in the recent months. Uber has had numerous of complaints about their political ties, drivers, and regulators. It seems like Whitley is not the only woman having her harassment swept under the rug.
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