Uber Introduces Feature Allowing Women to be Matched with Female Drivers
Uber has launched a new feature that enables women riders and drivers in the U.S. to be paired with other women for trips, expanding on a pilot program designed to address safety concerns on the ride-hailing platform.
The rollout of this feature nationwide comes despite an ongoing class-action lawsuit in California filed by Uber drivers who argue that the policy is discriminatory against men. Lyft, a competitor in the ride-hailing industry, is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering introduced nationwide in 2024.
The new feature, as announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through the app’s “Women Drivers” option. Passengers have the flexibility to choose another ride if the wait for a female driver is too long and can also schedule a trip in advance with a female driver. Additionally, female users can set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings to increase the likelihood of being matched with one, although it does not guarantee it. Uber is also extending this feature to its teen account users.
Uber’s women drivers can also set preferences in the app to request trips with female riders, with the ability to turn off this preference at any time. The company notes that approximately one-fifth of its drivers in the U.S. are women, though this ratio varies by city.
Despite these efforts, two California Uber drivers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, claiming that the Women Preferences feature violates California’s Unruh Act, which prohibits sex discrimination by businesses. The lawsuit argues that the feature gives minority female drivers access to a larger pool of passengers while leaving the majority male drivers with fewer opportunities. It also alleges that Uber’s policy perpetuates the gender stereotype that men are more dangerous than women.
Uber has filed a motion to compel arbitration in response to the lawsuit, citing an agreement signed by the plaintiffs when they joined the app as drivers. The company argues that the feature serves a public policy interest in enhancing safety and is a response to feedback from both women drivers and riders who expressed a preference for female companionship during rides.
Similar to Uber, Lyft is also facing legal challenges over its “Women+Connect” feature, which allows women and nonbinary riders to match with drivers who share the same identification.
Uber initially tested the “Women Preferences” feature in select cities before expanding it to 26 U.S. cities and eventually nationwide. The company first introduced a version of this feature in Saudi Arabia in 2019 following a change in the country’s laws granting women the right to drive. This option is now available in 40 other countries, including Canada and Mexico.
Both Uber and Lyft have been under scrutiny for their safety records, with thousands of reports of sexual assaults involving passengers and drivers. Uber was recently found legally responsible in a case of sexual assault and ordered to pay $8.5 million in damages to a victim. Despite the challenges, Uber has taken steps to enhance safety, such as collaborating with Lyft to create a database of drivers who have been removed from their platforms due to complaints of sexual assault and other crimes.
Uber reports a decrease in sexual assault incidents over the years, with statistics showing a significant drop in reported cases between 2017-2018 and 2021-2022. The platform emphasizes that such incidents represent a very small percentage of total trips nationwide.
