Uber plans one million female drivers by 2020

Taxi-hailing app, Uber, is planning to take on up to one million female drivers around the world within the next five years.

The ride service has been the subject of some controversy recently following a number of driver assaults on passengers in some cities, and hasn’t yet revealed the current ratio of male to female drivers.

However the Irish Independent reports that close to 14% of its 160,000 drivers are female in the USA, as the company pledges to add thousands more drivers each month.

Uber's general counsel, Salle Yoo said women passengers do not yet have the facility to request women drivers. However, she highlighted the app’s safety features which include the notification of the driver’s identification.

The initiative to recruit more female drivers coincides with a United Nations gathering in New York this week to celebrate women’s rights. Among the speakers at the occasion is Ms Yoo.

Uber does background checks to screen its prospective drivers but these vary from country to country.