Uber launches 'urgent investigation' into claims of sexual harassment by former employee

London [United Kingdom], Feb 20 (ANI): Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has announced an "urgent investigation" into claims of sexual harassment and discrimination by a former employee of the company. The accusation was made by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, who worked there from November 2015 to December 2016, on her blog. Fowler claimed that management had repeatedly dismissed her allegation of sexual harassment and discrimination, and alleged that they protected a repeated offender. Fowler also alleged that she was even threatened to be thrown out of the company by the management for raising her concerns. She further claimed that a manager had immediately propositioned her for sex when she had joined the company. The former Uber employee claimed that a director in the company had explained the dwindling numbers of women in her organization by saying that the women employee have to step up and be better engineers. Kalanick said the allegation leveled by a former employee of the company is repulsive and against everything Uber stands for and believes in. "We seek to make Uber a just workplace FOR EVERYONE and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber - and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired," The Guardian quoted Kalanick as saying. Fowler said she had taken the screenshots of her chats with the manger, who was propositioning her to have sex with him and reported the matter immediately to HR. She said, both HR and upper management had accepted that the manger was propositioning her but refused to take a stern action saying that "it was this man's first offense, and that they wouldn't feel comfortable giving him anything other than a warning and a stern talking-to." Fowler said she was asked by the management to find another team or stay in her position as it was believed that the manager might give her a poor performance review and there was nothing she could do about it. She said some women had earlier also reported about inappropriate interactions with the same manager before she had joined Uber. (ANI)