Ride-hailing platform Uber has expanded its “Women Preferences” feature across the United States and a number of international markets, marking a major step in the company’s effort to make its service feel safer and more comfortable for women. The feature, which allows female riders to request women drivers and enables female drivers to prioritize female passengers, is now available much more widely after being tested in select cities.
The company first revealed plans for the feature in 2025 as part of its broader push to improve safety and user experience on its platform. After months of testing and adjustments, Uber has now broadened access, making the option available to millions of users.
With the new setting, women who request a ride can choose to be matched with a female driver whenever possible. At the same time, women who drive for Uber can opt to prioritize trip requests from female riders. The company says the goal is to provide more control and reassurance for women who may prefer to ride with someone of the same gender.
Uber has framed the feature as a way to give women more choice while maintaining flexibility for both drivers and passengers.
Initial Tests Conducted in Major U.S. Cities
Before introducing the feature nationwide, Uber conducted a trial run in a handful of large American cities. The initial rollout took place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit during the summer of 2025.
The pilot program allowed the company to observe how riders and drivers interacted with the new option in real-world conditions. During the testing period, female riders were given the ability to select a preference that would prioritize female drivers for their trips.
Meanwhile, women driving for Uber could activate a setting that increased the likelihood that ride requests would come from female passengers. Uber monitored the results to see whether the feature affected ride availability, wait times, or driver earnings.
The testing phase ran from late July into August 2025. According to the company, feedback gathered from both riders and drivers played a key role in shaping how the feature ultimately worked when introduced on a larger scale.
Nationwide Launch Brings Feature to All U.S. Riders
After completing the initial tests, Uber began expanding the feature more broadly. On March 9, 2025, the company confirmed that the Women Preferences option had been rolled out across the United States.
Women using the Uber app can now choose a new option called “Women Drivers” when requesting a ride. If the setting is selected, the app will attempt to match the rider with a female driver.
However, Uber has built flexibility into the system to avoid long wait times. If no female drivers are available nearby, or if the estimated pickup time becomes too long, riders still have the option to accept the next available driver regardless of gender.
The company says this approach helps ensure the preference feature does not disrupt the overall efficiency of its ride-matching system.
Global Expansion Reaches Several Countries
Uber has also introduced the feature in several international markets as part of a wider global rollout.
Currently, the Women Preferences option for riders is available in seven countries: the United States, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Brazil, and Spain.
On the driver side, the company says women drivers can use the preference feature in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Uber has taken a gradual approach to expanding the program internationally. The company says it evaluates factors such as the number of female drivers in a region and overall demand from riders before launching the option in new markets.
As a result, additional countries may gain access to the feature in the future depending on how the rollout performs.
Roots of the Feature Trace Back to Saudi Arabia
Uber’s gender-based ride preference system first appeared several years ago. The company initially introduced a similar feature known as “Women Rider Preference” in 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
The launch came shortly after Saudi Arabia lifted its long-standing ban on women driving. That legal change significantly reshaped the country’s transportation landscape, allowing more women to enter the workforce as drivers.
Uber responded by introducing a feature that allowed female drivers to choose whether they wanted to accept ride requests from women passengers. The option proved popular and helped encourage more women to drive on the platform.
Over time, Uber expanded the feature to other markets where it believed the option could benefit riders and drivers.
Focus on Safety and Comfort
Safety has been one of the most frequently discussed issues in the ride-hailing industry. Companies like Uber have faced scrutiny over passenger safety, particularly for women traveling alone.
In response, the company has introduced a variety of tools over the years designed to improve security for both riders and drivers. These include emergency assistance buttons, ride tracking features, and the ability for riders to share their trip details with friends or family members in real time.
The Women Preferences option is meant to work alongside those tools rather than replace them. By giving women the ability to prioritize rides with female drivers, Uber hopes to make its platform more comfortable for users who may otherwise hesitate to use ride-hailing services.
The company believes that providing greater control over ride matches could help address some of the concerns women have expressed about personal safety during trips.
Feature Developed Through Testing and Feedback
According to Uber, the final version of the feature was shaped through extensive testing and user feedback in multiple regions.
The company experimented with different configurations and collected data on how riders and drivers interacted with the preference settings. Early trials in European markets, including Germany and France, helped the company refine the system.
Uber said it focused on understanding how often riders used the option, how it affected driver availability, and whether it significantly changed wait times.
These insights allowed the company to fine-tune how the matching system prioritizes requests while still keeping the platform efficient.
