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World's largest ride-hailing app Uber has fired its Asia Pacific Business Head, <keyword id="2620273" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Eric-Alexander">Eric Alexander</keyword> after two law firms - <keyword id="1735343" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Perkins-Coie">Perkins Coie</keyword> and <keyword id="1035359" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Covington-Burling">Covington &amp; Burling</keyword> discovered that he had accessed the medical reports of an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India in December 2014. The step taken is a part of Uber’s its ongoing investigations into widespread sexual harassment and mismanagement cases that it’s dealing with, says American technology news portal Recode. Both Perkins Coie and Covington &amp; Burling are leading the investigations related to the cases. As per the source contacted by Recode, Alexander is no longer associated with the company; however he declined to clarify if his firing was a part of the ongoing investigations, like 20 other employees who have been let go of since the investigations began. Reportedly, after obtaining the medical reports of the victim, Alexander shared them with Uber Founder and CEO <keyword id="1739133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Travis-Kalanick">Travis Kalanick</keyword> and Senior VP <keyword id="2602179" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Emil-Michael">Emil Michael</keyword>. According to the report, "Alexander carried around the document for about a year before other executives — presumably the legal department — obtained the report and destroyed his copy, according to the sources." (Image source Recode)

Uber fires Asia Pacific Business head for accessing India rape victim’s medical records

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sex trafficking young girls on his mysterious private island. Over 40 years ago, a different millionaire escaped justice in a stunningly similar case.

The Indian working woman is a celebrated reality in our country and even if many <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> leave their careers before their male counterparts due to various personal reasons, most of us were under the impression that the decision is a voluntary one. Well, not anymore. 
 On March 12, a former employee of The Viral Fever (<keyword id="6400882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TVF">TVF</keyword>), which is a known digital media giant, accused its CEO, of persistent “abuse and molestation” over a span of two years which led to her quitting the company, in a post on blog-platform Medium. 
 This anonymous account by the ‘Indian Fowler’ inspired by <keyword id="4194464" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="susan-fowler">Susan Fowler</keyword> who relayed her sexist experience at Uber, was dismissed by TVF on the same post on Medium, 50 other women have since recounted similar inappropriate experiences with <keyword id="6358442" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kumar">Kumar</keyword>, according to a Mid-day report. 
 When a company starts, there is so much going on that putting up a <keyword id="1350015" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sexual-Harassment-Committee">Sexual Harassment Committee</keyword> in place, is the least of the founders’ worries. 
In many cases, there aren’t any women to start with, or start-up with, to really focus on gender-centric issues. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/now-find-an-uber-ready-for-pick-up-for-your-next-jet-airways-flight/articleshow/57647515.cms">ALSO READ: Now find an Uber ready for pick-up for your next Jet Airways flight</a> 
 Similar to <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword>, women are a rarity in India’s startup ecosystem with less than 9% of its founders are women, according to a 2016 study by startup database Xeler8. 
 Women founders or CEOs are even a further dismal number with out of the 670 Indian <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> that received funding in 2016, just 3% were founded by women alone. 
 The casual workplace culture prevalent in start-ups where some start-ups have no work-hours, in-house bars or even no dress codes does have its pros but the cons, open up like a can-of-worms, case-in-point with TVF’s founder <keyword id="2720760" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anurabh-Kumar">Anurabh Kumar</keyword>. 
 
Sexual Harassment in the workplace becomes more muddled when the formal boundaries are crossed, easily in the case of start-ups. 
This startup work culture doesn’t seem to change in many start-ups even when they grow multitudes in size and popularity, which is relayed in their aggressive stance to harassment claims. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/shark-tank-judge-barbara-corcoran-says-building-a-business-is-like-starting-a-family/articleshow/57631305.cms">ALSO READ: Shark Tank Judge Barbara Corcoran says building a business is like starting a family</a> 
 
“We will leave no stone unturned to find the author of the article and bring them to severe justice for making such false allegations.’’ TVF wrote in response that created more backlash on the issue. 
 
TVF and its employees remained skeptical about Indian Fowler’s claims, and did not change it’s discouraging stand; the severity of the situation increased as allegations came from women in the open on Facebook. 
 
How to handle the situation, badly starring TVF 
 According to the <keyword id="1947111" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vishaka-guidelines">Vishaka Guidelines</keyword> which is a set of mandatory guidelines on sexual harassment in the workplace, the complaint should be handled by an <keyword id="1366726" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Internal-Complaints-Committee">Internal Complaints Committee</keyword>, which every organization that hires more than 10 employees must have. Most start-ups do not have this committee in place and if reports are to be believed then, TVF doesn’t even have a proper HR department. 
 
Ideally, if a corporate company does have an Internal Complaints Committee, the complaints should be addressed by them internally and action should be taken according to H.R. policies. 
 
This committee should be headed by a woman and at least half of the committee should be female. 
 <keyword id="1324890" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nidhi-Bisht">Nidhi Bisht</keyword> from TVF was the only person from the company who suggested that an investigation will be conducted after more women started emerging with their horrendous experiences in the company. This suggestion hasn't be confirmed by TVF anywhere. 
 
Sexual Harassment cases are shocking but they’re definitely not new and such cases prompted the country to pass the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act in 2013 but the implementation of the law remains lukewarm with the harshest penalty a molester may face is losing his job. 
 
According to an FICCI-EY November 2015 report, 36% of Indian companies and 25% among MNCs are not compliant with the Sexual Harassment Act, 2013 and this is the corporate reality today. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/y-combinator-introduces-free-online-startup-school-and-you-can-apply/articleshow/57512693.cms">ALSO READ: Y Combinator introduces free online ‘Startup School’ and you can apply</a> 
 <keyword id="1362593" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arunabh-Kumar">Arunabh Kumar</keyword> response to the allegations was simply of that of an entitled influential man comfortable in the patriarchal society who thinks he has done nothing wrong: “The kind of insinuations the FB post makes are untrue. I am a heterosexual, single man and when I find a woman sexy, I tell her she’s sexy. I compliment women. Is that wrong? Having said that, I am very particular about my behavior – I will approach a woman, but never force myself.” 
 
The Vishaka Guidelines state that creating a sexist environment and passing lewd or sexist comments including jokes also constitute sexual harassment. Maybe the ‘cool’ start-ups need to realize that this isn’t the college canteen anymore where they sat around and ‘checked out’ girls, this is the workplace. 
 
If they’re made uncomfortable, the guidelines state that in such cases, women should be given an option to shift to other office branches or be granted to take leave up to a period of about three months. 
 
In start-ups, who are very small usually ranging from 10 to 100 employees, their decisions revolve around what their founders think is ‘fitting to the company’s culture’ which is more often than not, relaxed to the extent that sexual harassment amounts to ‘jokes’ or ‘teasing’ or as Kumar says, complimenting someone, even if all they wanted to do was work.

The casual attitude to
Sexual Harassment in Startups and its women casualties

Truth is stranger than fiction. Indian Government has admitted that taxis in the country are unsafe and has issued a 13-page booklet for foreign tourists, enlisting a slew of advisories. 
 
The booklet-Welcome to India; Tips for Tourists – is being handed to every tourist at immigration counters at major airports in India. 
In this booklet, the government has advised tourists to click a photo of the taxi number plate and share it with their near ones. This is under the header-On being safe and secure. 
 
Such a safety tip has never been a part of official advisories before. 
 
Union Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma told Economic Times, “For safety issues we have started a booklet... (the taxi safety tip) advises tourists to take a picture of taxi number plate when boarding. If the taxi driver resists this, one can simply refuse to take the taxi." 
 
The minister further explained that even if someone damages the mobile phone (of the tourist)...at least the image has gone out. 
These advisories come in the back drop of rape and molestation cases, which has hit the Indian tourism. The safety tips are the longest section of the 'Tips for Tourists' booklet. 
 
Not only this, the booklet, which is available at all immigration counters, also advises 'On Clothing'. 
 
The safety tip reads: "Some parts of India, particularly the smaller towns and villages, still have traditional styles of dressing." It also asks tourists to "find out about local customs and traditions from the tourism office". 
"Avoid being too familiar with strangers" and "Avoid...going alone late at night" are among other tips for tourists from India's government. 
 
After the alleged rape by driver of an Uber cab hit the headlines, it led to regulatory attention. 
 
Gagan Bhatia, GM, Uber Delhi, gave a detailed response to ET's query. "Over the past six months, we have launched a number of key safety initiatives in India. Those include re-verification of all driver partners with the police, additional background screening with First Advantage, and the establishment of a dedicated local Incident Response Team to handle critical situations," he says. 
 
Bhatia said Uber has announced additional in-app safety upgrades including an in-app 'SOS button' so riders can immediately contact local police and alert the Uber support team to reach out in the rare event of an emergency. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Government admits taxis in India unsafe, issues advisories for foreign tourists

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Clodagh Kilcoyne/Getty ImagesTinder CEO Sean Rad</div></div></div>Tinder CEO Sean Rad's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sean-rad-tinder-interview-with-evening-standard-2015-11">bizarre interview </a>on the eve of his parent company's public offering this week almost upstaged the actual IPO.Rad's remarks, which included his now-famous confusion over the word "sodomy" and boasts of his apparently irresistible sexual charisma, were <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/match-group-files-with-sec-over-sean-rad-interview-2015-11">quickly followed by an SEC filing</a> from noting that he was not authorized to speak for the company. More worryingly, Rad also made some disconcerting comments in the interview about investigating the author of a negative article on Tinder that appeared in Vanity Fair.Rad is hardly the first tech executive to make headlines for strange or controversial remarks. In fact, Apple music executive Jimmy Iovine was on the hot seat this week too, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-music-head-jimmy-iovine-apologizes-for-saying-women-need-help-finding-music-2015-11">apologizing for comments he made</a> about women needing help finding music. Tech execs are the new rock stars. But they are clearly not immune from saying stupid things. Here are some of the top regrettable moments among the tech industry's leading lights:<ul><li>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a letter on the company website in 2014 to apologize for saying that women uncomfortable asking for a raise should simply "have faith that the system will give you the right raise...it's good karma." In his mea culpa<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/satya-nadella-apologizes-women-pay-2014-10"> Nadella said his comments were "completely wrong."</a></li><li>Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt raised eyebrows in 2009 when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BreJfzpbwm0">he appeared to dismiss public concerns about privacy</a> by suggesting that only people doing something wrong should be worried about their privacy. "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." </li></ul><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Rebecca Naden Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt</div></div></div><ul><li>Tom Perkins, a founding partner of venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield &amp; Byers (he is no longer involved with the firm) and a former HP board member, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304549504579316913982034286">wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal i</a>n 2014 comparing criticism of the rich to the Nazi persecution of the Jews in the 1930s. He <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25005611/venture-capitalist-tom-perkins-apologizes-holocaust-comments-but">later said he made a terrible choice of words</a>, though he stood by his message condemning hatred against a "minority," in this case, the wealthy. </li><li>Uber executive Emil Michael got in hot water in 2014 for comments made during a private dinner in which a Buzzfeed journalist was in attendance. Michael detailed a plan to counter unfriendly press coverage by conducting "opposition research" into certain reporters. Michael later said the comments did not reflect his or the company's actual views and were made out of frustration at what he perceived to be sensationalistic media coverage. Uber <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/emil-michael-of-uber-proposes-digging-into-journalists-private-lives/">noted that the comments were made during a private dinner</a> that was supposed to be an off the record affair. </li></ul>All in all, it's good reminder that the captains of tech, for all their success, are not always worth emulating. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-epic-tirade-against-ben-carson-gop-politics-2015-11"> Donald Trump compares Ben Carson's 'pathological disease' to a child molester in an epic tirade</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="szYmh0eDqVmsT6CSEsh30zgKiPQFQ08y" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "uber molestation case" and got 6 results

Uber fires Asia Pacific Business head for accessing India rape victim’s medical records

BI India Bureau

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sex trafficking young girls on his mysterious private island. Over 40 years ago, a different millionaire escaped justice in a stunningly similar case.

Áine Cain

The casual attitude to Sexual Harassment in Startups and its women casualties

Tanya Dubey

Government admits taxis in India unsafe, issues advisories for foreign tourists

BI India Bureau

Tech execs sometimes say dumb things - just like everybody else

Alexei Oreskovic

He was my high school journalism teacher. Then I investigated his relationships with teenage girls.

Matt Drange

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