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00:00FREQUENTLY ACQUIRE ASSAULT. WHAT DO THESE DRIVERS TELL YOU? > > THESE WOMEN WERE LURED TO THE PLATFORMS BECAUSE THEY ARE OFTEN TAKING CARE OF KIDS, JUGGLING RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET. WHAT THEY WERE PREPARED FOR WAS THE FREQUENCY OF HARASSMENT THEY EXPERIENCE. THESE WOMEN WERE TELLING ME THEY ARE FREQUENTLY PROPOSITIONED FOR SEX, KING ASKED FOR DRUGS, FORCIBLY KISSED, TOUCHED INAPPROPRIATELY. THE STORIES I HEAR WERE SHOCKING. WHAT ' S INTERESTING TO ME IS HOW FREQUENT THIS HAPPENED. MANY WOMEN WERE TOLD THEY WOULD NOT HAVE THESE PASSENGERS AGAIN, BUT DESPITE THE MEASURES TAKEN, IT HAPPENS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. EMILY: WHAT ARE THE COMPANY ' S RESPONSES? SELINA: THE FIRST THING THEY TELL ME HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE ARE NOT TOLERATED ON THE PLATFORM. IN A COMPANY LIKE UBER, WHICH HAS FACED SCANDAL OVER SCANDAL, HAS MADE A POINT TO ME THEY RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO IMPROVE. THESE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN PUTTING GROWTH OVER SAFETY HISTORICALLY. ONLY IN RECENT MONTHS HAVE THEY BEEN RULING -- ROLLING OUT NEW FEATURES INCLUDING A SAFETY BUTTON TO REACH 911, THE ABILITY TO SHARE YOUR RIDES AS A DRIVER OR RIDER, AND THEY HAD 24/7 SUPPORT LINES. I RECENTLY JOINED THIS 10,000 PLUS WOMEN FACEBOOK GROUP AND THE FREQUENCY OF STORIES ON HEARING ON THE POST IS INTERESTING. A LOT OF THESE WOMEN SAY THEY HAD TO CALL THE POLICE MANY TIMES OR HAVE NOT FOUND THE SUPPORT FORMS VERY HELPFUL, AND THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE IN THE SALT IS UNACCEPTABLE. EMILY: WHAT HAS BEEN -- THERE ARE A LOT OF OUTSIDE STUDIES, THIRD-PARTY STUDIES. IS THERE ANY ACADEMIC RESEARCH ON THE EXPERIENCES OF MEN AND WOMEN ON THESE PROBLEMS AS -- PLATFORMS AS DRIVERS WERE WRITERS? -- OR RIDERS. SELINA: YOU WOULD EXPECT THE EARNINGS GAP IS EQUAL. WHAT THEY FOUND IS THAT THERE IS A ROUGHLY 7% EARNINGS GAP. MEN ARE EARNING ABOUT 7% MORE ON THE HOUR. A BIG REASON THEY FOUND WAS THE ACCUMULATION OF EXPERIENCE. BECAUSE WOMEN WERE TURNING OVER ON THE PLATFORM, OR THEY WEREN ' T STAYING ON THE APP AS LONG, THEY WEREN ' T GETTING THE ACCUMULATED EXPERIENCE OF WHETHER TO ACCEPT OR REJECT RIDES. SAFETY IS CLEARLY A BIG COMPONENT FOR WHY THEY WEREN ' T STAYING ON THE APP. MANY OF THE WOMEN SPOKE TO -- I SPOKE TO SAID AFTER AN EXPERIENCE, THEY HAVE TO TAKE THE DAY OFF FOR SEVERAL DAYS OFF TO GET IN THE MINDSET AGAIN. EMILY: THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT GIVEN THEY NEED THESE DRIVERS. WOMEN ARE 50% OF THE POPULATION. SELINA: ANOTHER DIFFICULT ASPECT IS THAT THESE WOMEN TO MAKE ENDS MEET. THEY WANT TO DRIVE AT PEAK HOURS AND MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE. OFTEN TIMES, THAT MEANS DRIVING LATE INTO THE NIGHT. A LOT OF WOMEN I TALKED TO SAID THEY DROVE UNTIL 8:00 P.M. UNTIL 5:00 A.M. THAT IS THE MOST PRECARIOUS POSITION FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE STUCK ALONE IN A CAR OFTEN WITH INTOXICATED PEOPLE. THESE APPS ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH THE PLATFORMS THEMSELVES CAN DO. THESE WOMEN OFTEN FEEL LIKE THESE PLATFORMS ARE GIVING A MORE RELAXED POLICY TO THE WRITERS BECAUSE THEY WANT AS MANY RIDERS AS POSSIBLE. EMILY: REALLY IMPORTANT STORY TO TAKE A LOOK AT. THANK YOU, SELINA, FOR HOLDING

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The Dark Side Women Face Driving for Uber and Lyft

Women who drive for Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. say they frequently encounter harassment or assault from passengers. Bloomberg's Selina Wang reports on "Bloomberg Technology." (Source: Bloomberg)

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