Uber just cannot seem to get it right. After being forced to oust their CEO amidst allegations of sexual harassment and other scandals began to surface, they have been desperately trying to clean up their image. In a bid to turn things around tech giants Uber offered Black Girls Code a grant of $125,000. The offer was refused by the company’s CEO, Kimberly Bryant, as she didn’t feel that the offer was coming from a sincere place.
“My decision is layered,” Bryant told TechCrunch. “I’ve been quite open for some time about the fact that we as an org use Uber as a tool. We’re also headquartered in the city [Oakland] where they have planned to move. So I’ve been open to the notion that they can transform themselves. Yet their past history and ‘political’ nature of maneuvering is and was troubling.”
She added, it “seems a bit tone-deaf to really addressing real change in how they are moving towards both inclusion and equity. It appears to be more PR driven than actually focused on real change. So we turned it down.”
Uber then announced a multi-year partnership and $1.2million grant to Girls Who Code, with Uber’s Chief Brand Officer, Bozoma Saint John, joining their Board of Directors.
After turning down Uber’s dollars, fans of Black Girls Code then rallied to raise the $125,000 they’d declined and surpassed their goal!!!
We made it!!!!!! Big shout out to Dana and Kimbra for putting us over the top! Thanks to everyone for showing us so much love! pic.twitter.com/8DIekviw8J
— Black Girls CODE (@BlackGirlsCode) August 27, 2017
You can still donate to Black Girls Code by clicking this link.
