Rethink the ratio
Uber + Girlboss
Societal barriers and biases have held women back for centuries. And even today, that hasn’t really changed. In 2017, women received just 2% of VC funding. So Uber decided it was time to #RethinkTheRatio.
As a pioneer of the gig economy, Uber has empowered more than one million women to drive and earn on their terms and this was an opportunity to move more female entrepreneurs forward. With the goal of increasing favorability among female riders and drivers, and becoming the rideshare platform of choice, we launched the Uber Pitch program. We partnered with a well-known and respected community of women, Girlboss, to provide tools, mentorship, and $220,000 in funding to three female founders.
A Social Experiment
To launch the pitch, we filmed a social experiment where we asked real female entrepreneurs to choose who they thought was the boss. When faced with a man and a woman in mirror-image executive offices, and no one to ask for help, the entrepreneurs had to make a tough decision. As expected, many entrepreneurs chose the man’s office but, in the end, more chose the woman. In post-experiment interviews, the entrepreneurs said they picked the female not because that’s who they thought it would be but because that’s who they want it to be.
Paid Media
Digital Videos
#RethinkTheRatio Case Study
We continued to challenge people to #RethinkTheRatio by sitting down with Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Julie Foudy to talk about the inequalities in soccer for a three-episode web series. Then we hit the road to discuss gender disparities in the music industry with two up-and-coming stars.
With more than 406 million overall impressions, Uber saw 98% positive sentiment in earned media and an 84% increase in engagement. We even got a shoutout from Serena Williams’s husband.
As a result, Uber received almost 2,500 Uber Pitch submissions in just two weeks. Three entrepreneurs were awarded $220,000 at the Girlboss Rally in New York City where Uber hosted two days of events centered around #RethinkTheRatio and fueled by the women trying to close the gender gap for good.
Behind The Scenes
Look at all these boss ladiessssssss. With a 95% female crew and post-production, this project was made by women, for women, in front of the camera and behind it.
