Uber’s women-only option goes nationwide in the US

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the U.S. to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its ride-hailing platform.

The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it discriminates against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024.

Uber’s feature, announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app called “Women Drivers.” Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, and they can also reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance. A third option allows female users to set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings, which would increase the chances of being matched with a female driver but doesn’t guarantee it. Uber also allow teen account users to request women drivers.

Uber’s women drivers can set the app’s preferences to request trips with female riders, and they can turn off that preference at anytime.

Uber, based in San Francisco, says about one-fifth of its drivers in the U.S. are women, thought the ratio varies by city.

Two California Uber drivers filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber in November, arguing that by potentially giving female drivers access to a wider pool of passengers, the new feature violates California’s Unruh Act, which prohibits sex discrimination by business enterprises. The lawsuit also argues that Uber’s policy “reinforces the gender stereotype that men are more dangerous than women.”

Uber filed a motion to compel arbitration in the case, citing an agreement the plaintiffs signed when joining the app as drivers. In the motion, Uber disputed that its new feature violates the Unruh Act, saying it “serves a strong and recognized public policy interest in enhancing safety.”

Anne Olivarius, co-founder of the law firm McAllister Olivarius who specializes in sex discrimination and sexual harassment cases, said she believes Uber and Lyft have a strong case against discrimination litigation because the features address an urgent business need to protect clients.

“Lowering a client’s risk of rape — is that a business necessity? I would argue that it is a business necessity,” Olivarius said.

Uber piloted the “Women Preferences” feature in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit last summer and expanded it to 26 U.S. cities in November. The company first launched a version of the feature in Saudi Arabia in 2019 following the country’s landmark law granting women the right to drive. It now offers similar options in 40 other countries, including Canada and Mexico.

Both Uber and Lyft have faced thousands of reports of sexual assaults over the years from both passengers and drivers. In February, federal jury found Uber to be legally responsible in a 2023 case of sexual assault and the company was ordered to pay $8.5 million to an Arizona woman who said she was raped by one of its drivers.

Uber maintains that because its drivers are contractors, it’s not liable for their misconduct. But Uber says it has taken multiple steps to improve safety, including teaming up with Lyft in 2021 to create a database of drivers ousted for complaints over sexual assault and other crimes.

Melody Flores, a single mother who drivers for Uber overnight in San Francisco so that she can care for her 4-year-old daughter during the day, said she almost exclusively uses the Women Preference option and participates in ads promoting the feature.

Flores, 41, said she frequently dealt with drunken male passengers who would make lewd comments. Now, she mostly picks up women coming out of late shifts at hospitals or restaurants or leaving parties. She said business has picked up, in part because she feels more comfortable driving into neighborhoods that once made her nervous.

“Especially when you work overnight, it’s been nice to have that feature,” Flores said.

Sergio Avedian, who drives for Uber and Lyft and is a senior contributor to The RideShare Guy, a popular blog for drivers, said he thinks the feature is a good idea but he is skeptical that it will be effective in practice because of how few women drivers there are, especially during overnight hours.

“Are you going to sit there in front of the bar and wait an extra 20 minutes to get matched to a woman?” Avedian said. “For the riders, it’s mostly about how fast can you get here and how much is it?”

Uber said it hopes the Women Preferences option will attract more female drivers to its platform, and has launched a media campaign featuring star athletes including Alex Morgan and Jordan Chiles to promote it.

Unlike Lyft’s their state allows them to change their gender identification on documents.

In response to questions from The Associated Press, Uber said “we consulted with various women’s safety organizations and LGBTQ+ groups while designing this feature and determined that it is not the best way to serve non-binary riders or drivers.”

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