When will companies learn that people don't like it when they objectify women? That day isn't today, but humanity has won a small victory at least.
Uber's branch in Lyon, France announced today that it cancelled its partnership with the French website and app Avions de Chasse, which is slang for "an incredibly hot chick," according to the description on the website. The promotion set out to pair Uber customers with "hot chick" drivers in the city for a 20-minute ride, according to a blog post on Uber's website that was deleted after BuzzFeed reached out to the company for a comment, which Uber did not respond to.
"This partnership was canceled immediately," an Uber spokesperson told Business Insider. "It was a clear misjudgment by the local team and we apologize to the Uber community."
Before Uber's blog post was removed, BuzzFeed reported that it said riders would "become the luckiest co-pilot of Lyon" and included the stereotypical jab, "Who said women don't know how to drive?" There was also a video created for the promotion, which has also been taken down apparently, where it looks like a female driver's cleavage was the star.
Uber was smart in putting the kibosh on this partnership once it heard the backlash, so kudos to the company for that. However, it doesn't help the fact that the mobile livery cab service industry can sometimes make women feel uncomfortable. Every once in a while, you hear reports of sexual harassment and assault from drivers affiliated with Uber and other car service apps. These instances aren't necessarily the fault of the companies, but the safety of their riders is certainly one of their responsibilities.
It was announced last month that the all-female driver service SheTaxis — SheRides would be launching soon in New York and would solely serve female riders. Hopefully, this app and other efforts will help make the mobile livery cab world not such a scary, or at least less of an irksome, space for women in the future.
