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Kevork Djansezian/Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO — David Bonderman, an Uber board member and partner at private equity firm TPG, is resigning from the board of the ride-hailing company after he made a disparaging remark about women at an Uber meeting on Tuesday.
At an Uber staff meeting earlier in the day, Arianna Huffington, another Uber board member, said one woman on a board often leads to more women joining a board. Mr. Bonderman responded “that it’s much more likely to be more talking.”
Attendees were aghast at the exchange, and Mr. Bonderman later apologized.
“I appreciate David doing the right thing for Uber at this time of critical cultural changes at the company,” Ms. Huffington said in a statement.
In a statement, Mr. Bonderman said his comment “came across in a way that was the opposite of what I intended, but I understand the destructive effect it had, and I take full responsibility for that.”
Mr. Bonderman joined Uber’s board because TPG is an investor in the ride-hailing company. For the past few months, Mr. Bonderman has been working on Uber’s culture after the company was rocked by scandals over claims of sexual harassment and other misbehavior
“I do not want my comments to create distraction as Uber works to build a culture of which we can be proud,” Mr. Bonderman said in his statement. “I need to hold myself to the same standards that we’re asking Uber to adopt. Therefore, I have decided to resign from Uber’s board of directors, effective tomorrow morning.”
