Ellen Pao Loses Lawsuit Against Silicon Valley On All Counts

[RandySF]

(Bloomberg) -- A jury rejected Ellen Pao’s claims of gender discrimination by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in a case that riveted Silicon Valley for weeks and exposed how women fare in the male-dominated world of venture capital.

The verdict followed testimony by two dozen witnesses who variously painted Kleiner as unfriendly to women and Pao as a difficult employee. The decision set aside Pao’s claims that the firm where she worked for seven years valued and judged women and men according to different standards.

The suit and the revelations in court send “a clear message to the business community that they need to take these allegations more seriously,” said Deborah Rhode, a Stanford Law School professor. “I think it’s a real wake-up call to the Silicon Valley community in general and the venture capital industry in particular.”

The Pao trial opened a rare window on the world of venture capital firms that line Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. Her case attracted attention not only for its sensational claims, but also because of Kleiner’s stature. And the trial took place as the technology industry wrestled with a gender imbalance that has drawn harsh criticism.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-27/kleiner-fights-off-gender-bias-suit-that-riveted-silicon-valley

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That is too bad. n/t

[dariomax]

3. Why? Nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Because it's a setback for women in her position. You didn't see that?

Welcome to DU.

[dariomax]

5. It's a setback that not one juror saw what you see?

I would assume they saw more evidence from both sides than we did.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. As far as I'm concerned, it's a setback for women in her position.

That is MY point of view. Obviously the jury disagrees, and that is a separate matter.

[hifiguy]

2. I saw a few discrimination cases of this sort when clerking

for two trial judges. They are extremely difficult to prove, at least in Minnesota. Not saying that's a good thing or necessarily the way it should be, just the way it is under current law.