Ryanair chair Bonderman quits Uber in sexism row

Ryanair chairman David Bonderman has resigned from the board of car-ride services operator Uber following a remark he made during a staff meeting that was widely seen as offensive to women.

Mr Bonderman’s ill-timed remark came during an all-staff meeting yesterday to discuss how Uber plans to transform itself following a probe into sexual harassment at the company.

Mr Bonderman said he did not want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination.

His resignation from the board is effective immediately. During yesterday’s meeting, Uber board member Arianna Huffington spoke to employees about the importance of adding more women to the board of directors.

“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.

In response, Mr Bonderman said: “Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking.”

In his resignation statement, Mr Bonderman called his remarks “careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable” and “the opposite of what I intended.” He and other board members had joined the staff meeting to lay out recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment, diversity, inclusion, and other employee concerns led by former US attorney general Eric Holder. n Reuters