Uber plans to hire 1 million female drivers to address safety concerns

Taxi-hailing service Uber plans to hire more female drivers in a bid to address safety concerns, following a few highly-publicised assaults on women passengers, including the rape of one in New Delhi.

According to a report by News.com.au, the company has planned to get at least one million female drivers onboard globally by 2020 as part of a partnership with the United Nations' gender equality arm, UN Women.

General manager David Rohrsheim dubbed the move as a positive step for both gender equality and the economy.

"Creating greater economic opportunity for women is not only good for gender equality, but is also important for the economy," he said.