March 10--Uber made a bold promise on Tuesday to create 1 million jobs for women as drivers on its ride-hailing platform by 2020.
The company said it would work with UN Women, the United Nations organization for gender equality, on programs to help create those jobs.
The company acknowledges the number is ambitious. "The 1 million number represents a significant commitment over the next five years, but not only do we hope to meet it, we hope to exceed it," Uber spokeswoman Eva Behrend said.
As of December 2014, Uber had 160,000 active drivers in the U.S., 14% of whom, the company said, were women.
Of course, a lot can change by 2020. The sharing economy as we know it today barely existed five years ago, and Uber itself hadn't even launched. Drivers may start being replaced by driverless cars in five years, which would disrupt Uber's job creation goal.
Right now, the company doesn't seem fazed. "We see the changing landscape as an opportunity to continue to innovate, and we know that with more innovation comes more opportunity," Behrend said.
