Summary: After a year of battling against her former employer Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for discrimination and retaliation because she is a woman, she has decided to move on.
Ellen Pao has dropped her appeal against former employer Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Pao had sued the Silicon Valley venture firm for gender discrimination and retaliation. Her case went to a jury trial in San Francisco but she lost on all counts. Pao argued that she was passed over for a promotion for a male with lesser qualifications and then when she complained about it, she claims the company fired her.
In an interview Pao said she will not appeal the jury’s decision because she “cannot commit the resources and time that would be needed to continue.” She also noted that the negative attention has taken a toll on her and her family.
Pao may have to pay Kleiner Perkins legal fees as a result of the lawsuit, a total of $276,000 with a 10 percent annual interest. Kleiner Perkins had previously stated that they would drop the fees if she dropped the appeal so she may get out of paying the fees.
While Pao still firmly believes she was discriminated against, she believes she has been successful enough at bringing the issue of treatment of women in technology to the spotlight. She cannot afford to fight a company like Kleiner Perkins that has a huge PR and legal department but she can still stand up for women.
Pao also stepped down recently as the interim CEO of Reddit due to the negative media attention she was getting from the case.
Source: http://recode.net/2015/09/10/ellen-pao-i-have-decided-to-end-my-lawsuit-against-kleiner-perkins/
Photo: fortune.com