Uber Expands Women Preferences Nationwide

Uber is expanding the Women Preferences option to cover the entire United States, bringing an extra layer of choice to riders and drivers who prefer same-gender pairings. The feature was tested in select cities and has been available in other countries — notably beginning in Saudi Arabia in 2019 — before this nationwide push.

Using the feature is straightforward. When requesting a trip or booking in advance, women riders can toggle a Women Drivers preference. There’s also a setting in the app to save that preference for future rides. Uber is careful to note that selecting the option isn’t a guarantee — availability depends on how many drivers are nearby and their own preferences — but it does add an extra filter for those who want it.

The same setup applies to drivers. Women drivers can indicate they prefer picking up women riders, which can help align comfort levels on both sides of a trip. The pairing logic is constrained by the real-time driver pool, so the system will still fall back to the regular matching process if a same-gender match isn’t available.

Uber isn’t working alone on this front. Lyft has been rolling out a similar Women Connect feature nationwide, reflecting a wider trend among ride-hailing companies to offer more tailored safety and comfort options. These moves come as part of broader efforts to make rides more accessible and reassuring for passengers who want gender-based preferences.

For riders and drivers who value that additional choice, the expansion means it’s now simpler to indicate those preferences without switching platforms or relying on workarounds. It’s a modest change in the matching algorithm, but one that could matter a lot to people weighing safety and comfort when they travel.