Uber’s pay formula for drivers favours speed, which benefits men

A man checks a vehicle at the first of Uber's 'Work On Demand' recruitment events where they hope to sign 12,000 new driver-partners, in South Los Angeles on March 10, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Mark Ralston

Uber has proven to be a flexible workplace for drivers who can set their own hours and routes, a system that some speculated would favour women. Instead, it seems the formula for compensating these drivers favours speed, which tends to be clocked by more lead-footed men, a study shows. 

The result is that male Uber drivers earn 7% more than females, according to an analysts of more than one million drivers for the startup. Other factors including experience and preferences over when and where to work, also contribute to the discrepancy, according to the study.