CNN calls it “diversifying their workplaces”. But when a qualified white male is discriminated against because he’s white and because he’s the wrong gender, most Americans have another name for it…”discrimination”.

Imagine working hard for 4-6 years (or more) to get the degree that should help you land the job you’ve always dreamed of having. Imagine finding yourself in debt with student loans totaling $150,000 or more. You’ve got the desire to work hard, you earned your degree, you have the motivation to earn money (paying off your student loan) and you’re finally ready to start the life you worked so hard to create for yourself. Not so fast. If you’re white and you’re a male, and you’re thinking about a career with Uber,  you should probably look elsewhere, because their new chief brand officer is calling on current, white, male employees to assess their surroundings and help to reduce the number of white males working for the company. It’s no longer about whether or not you’re qualified, it’s strictly about the color of your skin and being born the wrong gender. Move along, there’s nothing to see here…

CNN – Bozoma Saint John, Uber’s chief brand officer, called on white men to help diversify their workplaces.

“I want white men to look around in their office and say, ‘Oh look, there’s a lot of white men here. Let’s change this,'” Saint John said at the SXSW festival on Sunday.

Bozoma Saint John
Saint John said the onus should not be on people of color to improve diversity at work: “Why do I — as the black woman — have to fix that? There’s 50 of you, there’s one of me. Ya’ll fix it. … Everybody else needs to make the noise — I want white men to make the noise.”

Saint John joined Uber last June and is responsible for increasing customer loyalty. Her hire was considered a strategic move in Uber’s turnaround effort: The company added a black female executive after being blasted for having a non-inclusive culture.

Travis Kalanick resigned as CEO later in June amid turmoil at the company.

“The number of African Americans in Silicon Valley is dismal,” said Saint John, who left her marketing leadership job at Apple Music for Uber. “It’s not up to one company — it’s up to the entire industry to make sure that we are moving the conversation forward. Sometimes those walls of competition need to come down so we can move the entire industry forward.”

Using race and gender as reasons to not hire employees…how very progressive.

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