“Girlboss: #RethinkTheRatio” is a 2018 YouTube video and ad created by Uber to highlight the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, particularly with regards to gender. The video features a social experiment where real women entrepreneurs were told they were meeting with the CEO of a company and directed to go to the office with a glass door. When they get to the glass door they find they must choose between two doors, one with a woman behind it, and the other with a man. The interviewees then go on to share their personal experiences working in male-dominated industries, highlighting society’s influence on how we perceive men and women in the workplace. The video was used to launch an Uber program that provided tools, mentorship, and $220,000 in funding to three female founders.

discussion

How did the video set up an argument about the need to “rethink the ratio”? What assumptions or perceptions shaped the women’s actions?

What do you think shaped their decisions to choose the door they did? 

What was Uber’s motivation to create this video? 

Uber has been sued many times for discrimination against people with certain social identities. Does this change the way you perceive this video that they produced?