Uber Expanding In-App Women Driver Selection Due To Increase In Florida Sexual Assault Claims
What You Need to Know About Uber's New Safety Feature
Uber's Women Preferences feature is now available nationwide, giving both riders and drivers new safety options that have already facilitated over 230 million trips worldwide.
• Complete control over your ride: Women riders can request female drivers while female drivers can choose to prioritize rides from women passengers, with full flexibility to toggle preferences on/off anytime.
• Response to alarming trends: The feature addresses disturbing statistics showing Uber received sexual assault reports every eight minutes between 2017-2022, with women making up 89% of rape cases.
• Expect some limitations: With only 20% of Uber drivers being women, you should expect longer wait times and potential price increases when requesting female drivers.
• Legal battles ahead: Male drivers have filed discrimination lawsuits claiming the feature violates California's Unruh Act, while Uber faces over 3,000 pending sexual assault lawsuits.
• Not for everyone: The feature currently excludes non-binary users, unlike competitor Lyft's Women+Connect, raising questions about who gets protected.
This feature offers valuable safety options for women, but its effectiveness depends on driver availability and whether you're willing to wait longer or pay more for peace of mind.
Women across America now have more control over their Uber ride experience thanks to a feature that has already helped millions of trips worldwide. The Women Preferences option allows you to request a female Uber driver through the uber ride app, and it lets female Uber drivers choose to accept rides primarily from other women.
After testing in select cities, this safety-focused feature is now available nationwide in the U.S., along with six other countries including Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Brazil, and Spain. For drivers, it's accessible in over 40 countries. We understand that your safety matters, and knowing how this feature works, what led to its creation, and the controversies surrounding it can help you make the right decisions about your rideshare safety.
How Uber's Women Driver Feature Actually Works
The Two-Way Safety System Uber Created
Uber designed this feature after listening to women who wanted more control over their rideshare experience. The system works both ways - you can request female drivers, and women drivers can choose to prioritize rides from women passengers.
Here's how Uber determines your gender: The app uses technology to identify gender based on your first name. For drivers, Uber verifies gender through government-issued ID during their sign-up process. If the app gets your gender wrong, you can easily fix this in your account settings.
Don't expect this feature to work every single time. Since only about one-fifth of Uber drivers are women, availability changes based on where you are and what time you're requesting a ride. You can turn your preferences on or off whenever you need to.
Three Ways to Get a Female Driver
When you need a ride and want a woman driver, you have these options:
Request right away: Choose "Women Drivers" when booking through the uber ride app. If the wait gets too long, you can switch to a regular ride for faster pickup.
Book ahead: Use Uber's Reserve feature to schedule rides with women drivers in advance.
Set it as your default: Turn on the women driver preference in your settings. This boosts your chances of getting matched with female drivers, though it's not a guarantee.
You can bring other passengers when using this feature. But here's something important to know - if you request a woman driver and show up with a male passenger, that driver has the right to cancel your trip.
Setting Your Preferences
For riders: Go to Account, then Settings, click your name at the top, and update your Personal info section.
For women drivers: Toggle on "Women Rider Preference" in your driver app settings. This gives you control over your earnings while keeping things flexible. You can switch this off anytime to get ride requests from everyone.
What About Teen Accounts?
Teens and their parents can request women drivers for both immediate rides and advance bookings in cities where Uber Teen accounts work. When a parent books a ride for their teenager, they'll see the option to request a woman driver or reserve one ahead of time.
Why Uber Created This Safety Feature - The Numbers Tell the Story
Sexual Assault Reports Every Eight Minutes
The statistics behind Uber's Women Preferences feature reveal a disturbing reality. Between 2017 and 2022, Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the United States almost every eight minutes. Sealed court records revealed the company received 400,181 reports during this five-year period, far exceeding the 12,522 "serious" incidents Uber had publicly disclosed. Women account for 89% of reported rape cases.
Lyft's numbers paint an equally concerning picture. The company disclosed 4,158 reports of sexual assault during 2017, 2018, and 2019, with 360 of those being reports of rape. Riders initiated 52% of sexual assault reports, while drivers initiated 38%.
Real Women, Real Experiences
Melody Flores, a 41-year-old single mother who drives overnight shifts in San Francisco, knows these statistics aren't just numbers. She frequently dealt with drunken male passengers who made lewd comments. She now almost exclusively uses the Women Preference option and mostly picks up women leaving late shifts at hospitals or restaurants.
"Especially when you work overnight, it's been nice to have that feature," Flores stated.
Uber's Response to the Crisis
Uber tested tools that proved effective at making trips safer, including sophisticated matching algorithms and pairing female passengers with female uber drivers. However, internal documents show the company studied the problem for years but delayed requiring drivers to adopt some of the most promising programs.
Legal Consequences Continue to Mount
The safety crisis has real financial consequences. In February, a federal jury in Arizona ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a passenger who said one of its drivers raped her in November 2023. Evidence revealed that Uber's safety algorithm flagged the ride as "higher risk" before it began, but this information was never passed to the passenger.
This verdict provides a road map for more than 3,000 pending sexual assault and sexual misconduct lawsuits against the company. Uber maintains it's not liable for driver misconduct because drivers are independent contractors, not employees.
How the Women Driver Feature Works for You
Requesting a Female Driver - Your Options
When you request a ride, Uber's technology determines gender based on your first name. If the system gets your gender wrong, you can fix it easily - just go to Account, then Settings, select your name at the top, and update your Personal info section.
The feature only works if your gender is set to "Woman" in your app. You can bring guests when you request a woman driver, but you must be in the vehicle with them. Here's something important to know: if you select Women Drivers and bring a male passenger, your female driver can cancel the trip.
For Female Drivers - Complete Control Over Your Preferences
Female drivers have full flexibility to turn the Women Rider Preference on or off whenever you want. You can switch between accepting all ride requests or focusing on women riders based on what feels right for your situation and earning goals. Turn off the preference anytime to get more trip requests.
What to Expect - Wait Times and Costs
Here's the reality: you may wait longer when female drivers aren't available or they're farther from your location. Pricing for Women Drivers trips tries to match regular trips, but costs can vary based on time, distance, driver availability, and demand. Your trip price may go up if the female driver is farther away than a male driver, or if demand is higher than normal.
Teen Accounts Can Use This Feature Too
Teens and their guardians can access this option in cities where Uber Teen accounts are available. When you request a ride for your teen, you'll see the same Women Drivers option for both immediate rides and advance reservations.
Legal Challenges and Real-World Limitations You Should Know
Male Drivers Fight Back with Discrimination Claims
Two California drivers filed a class action lawsuit in November challenging the Women Preferences feature. They claim the policy violates California's Unruh Act, which prohibits sex discrimination by business enterprises. The lawsuit argues that female drivers gain access to a wider pool of passengers, and that the policy reinforces the gender stereotype that men are more dangerous than women.
Uber responded by filing a motion to compel arbitration, citing agreements drivers signed when joining the platform. The company disputes the Unruh Act violation, stating the feature serves a strong public policy interest in enhancing safety. Ann Olivarius, a sex discrimination attorney, believes Uber has a strong case because lowering a client's risk of rape qualifies as a business necessity.
The Reality Check: Only 20% Female Uber Drivers
About one-fifth of Uber drivers in the U.S. are women, though this ratio varies by city. Earlier studies found approximately 27 percent of drivers were women, whereas some reports indicated only 14%.
This means you may face longer wait times and higher costs when requesting female drivers. The numbers simply aren't in your favor.
Questions About Whether This Actually Works
Sergio Avedian, an uber ride share driver and contributor to The RideShare Guy blog, questions whether riders will wait an extra 20 minutes for a woman driver, noting that speed and cost typically drive rider decisions.
The feature only helps if you're willing to wait longer and potentially pay more for the peace of mind.
Non-Binary Users Left Out of Safety Options
Uber's feature excludes non-binary riders and drivers, unlike Lyft's Women+Connect. For drivers, Uber relies on gender listed on driver's licenses, meaning transgender women's access depends on whether their state allows gender identification changes on documents. Uber consulted with LGBTQ+ groups and determined the feature isn't the best way to serve non-binary users.
If you identify as non-binary, you currently have no access to these safety preference options.
Conclusion
The Women Preferences feature represents a significant step toward addressing safety concerns in rideshare services, despite ongoing controversies about discrimination and effectiveness. As a matter of fact, this option gives you more control over your ride experience, whether you're a rider seeking peace of mind or a driver managing safety preferences. Due to the limited number of female drivers, availability remains inconsistent. Research your options thoroughly and decide whether this feature aligns with your safety priorities.
FAQs
Q1. How does Uber's Women Preferences feature work? The feature allows women riders to select "Women Drivers" when requesting or reserving a trip, or set it as a preference to increase their chances of matching with a female driver. Female drivers can also toggle on a setting to prioritize accepting rides from women passengers, giving both parties more control over their ride experience.
Q2. Can female Uber drivers choose to pick up only women passengers? Yes, female drivers can enable the "Women Rider Preference" setting in their driver app, which allows them to prioritize trip requests from women riders. They maintain full flexibility and can turn this preference on or off at any time to receive requests from all passengers.
Q3. What should I do if the wait time for a female driver is too long? If wait times extend beyond your expectations when requesting a woman driver, you can opt for another ride with a faster pickup time. Alternatively, you can use the Reserve function to pre-book trips with women drivers in advance, which provides more planning certainty for scheduled rides.
Q4. Are there any safety tips women should follow when using rideshare services? Always verify the driver's name, photo, and license plate before entering the vehicle. Wait in a safe, well-lit area for your ride, sit in the back seat for easier exit access if needed, and share your trip details with friends or family so someone knows your location during the ride.
Q5. Who can access Uber's Women Preferences feature? The feature is available to riders whose gender is set to "Woman" in the app, including teen accounts where available. Female drivers can access the preference option in over 40 countries. However, the feature currently does not include options for non-binary users.
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