When I need car service in my hometown of New York City, I head to my iPhone and tap an app that will dispatch only White drivers. See, I’m White myself, and I feel safer when my driver is, too. Of course, my driver feels just as secure knowing that I’m not the type to rob or attack.
Come on, you know the type.
Anyone who knows me clearly sees that none of this is actually true. For starters, I still own a flip phone (don’t judge!). Second, there’s no such app. Third, when getting from A to B. the only race I care about is the one against time. Still, if such an app were to exist, you’d probably call the ALCU, especially if you’re a Black man for whom bigoted taxi drivers aren’t hypotheticals.
That said, a new livery service is about to launch in New York City and the metro area next week. It features exclusively female drivers who will transport exclusively female customers. Called SheTaxis (SheRides in New York City), it’s essentially Uber for women who feel uncomfortable with male drivers. If there’s no woman in your party, SheTaxis will reject your order. It’s similar to a service in New Zealand, Cabs for Women.
SheTaxis was founded by Stella Mateo, a mother of two daughters, who told the New York Times that she hopes to attract women drivers—who would wear a pink scarf while working—to a testosterone-fueled industry. Indeed, of almost 60,000 for-hire drivers of livery cabs, green cabs, limos, and luxury sedans, only 5 percent are female. The figure plummets to 1 percent for yellow cabs.
Do female passengers need to fear male drivers? Sure, there have been some sexual harassment complaints, but for the most part, my unofficial poll of no one shows that midtown traffic is a greater grievance. Do female drivers need to worry about male passengers? Maybe just the ones stumbling out of McSorley’s at 3 a.m., and who may lack enough skill to project vomit out a car window.
Nonetheless, some women really would prefer female drivers. What’s wrong with that?
A lot, actually.
To begin with, let’s turn on the headlights to get a good view of what this really is. I don’t care if a company wants to veil it under some notion of safety. This is nothing but a marketing scheme preying on prejudice. The fear or “fear” that a male driver or passenger is likely to attack you because of your gender is a logical wrong turn. Try Googling cases of New York taxi and livery drivers involved in rape or assault cases. Go ahead. The few you find do not make a trend.
This also isn’t identical to a woman seeking out a female gynecologist. Some really do feel uneasy with male doctors probing them. So is that discrimination? Maybe, and we can talk about that another time. But for now, imagine a doctor who only treats one gender based on criteria that have nothing to do with sex. That’s no different than a white doctor rejecting black patients. Which is no different than a white taxi driver rejecting black passengers. Which is no different than a female cabbie refusing to pick up men.
Turns out, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates livery services, has yet to license SheRides. “I think SheRides creates a problem under the discrimination laws,” Samuel Estreicher, a New York University professor of labor employment, told the New York Daily News. “They can take all measures to make sure that only responsible drivers are engaged, but cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, even if they are just catering to the preferences of their customers. That is generally not a justification for sex discrimination.” Exactly. Companies should focus on traits and skills needed to be a good driver. A vagina (or a penis) should not be a perquisite for work or service.
I hope the Commission stops SheRides on its discriminatory detour. It’s important to repudiate prejudice, regardless of intentions, wherever we see it. Even when it’s speeding by as a pink Pashmina ripples in the wind.
The Inclusion Solution would love to hear your opinion on this! Let us know what you think!
