The Verge - Sexism in Silicon Valley: in the courtroom at Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkinshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2015-05-27T16:19:18-04:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/79726602015-05-27T16:19:18-04:002015-05-27T16:19:18-04:00Ellen Pao says diversity will improve in Silicon Valley when more people tell their stories
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<p>This year, former venture capitalist Ellen Pao <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8208619/kleiner-perkins-ellen-pao-trial-gender-discrimination">captivated Silicon Valley</a> by suing her former firm, Kleiner Perkins, alleging gender discrimination. Pao <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/27/8281981/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-verdict/in/7972660">lost the case</a>, and hasn't yet said whether she would appeal. In some of her first extended comments since the trial, Pao appeared at the Code Conference today calling on other people who have experienced discrimination to share their own stories — and said doing so may help improve diversity in Silicon Valley as much as anything.</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/27/8673237/ellen-pao-gender-diversity-code-conferenceCasey Newton2015-04-23T16:13:47-04:002015-04-23T16:13:47-04:00Kleiner Perkins threatens Ellen Pao with nearly $1 million in legal fees
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<p>According to documents filed today, Kleiner Perkins is now threatening Ellen Pao with $973,000 in court costs if she decides to appeal the case. The decision to press the issue comes <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/27/8281981/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-verdict/in/7972660">one month</a> after the Silicon Valley giant was found not liable in the highest-profile gender discrimination case in years.</p>
<p>Pao, who currently serves as interim CEO at Reddit, took the venture capital firm to trial earlier this year, armed with claims that a brief, consensual affair with a partner during her tenure at Kleiner Perkins resulted in retaliation and lost wages — all part and parcel of the entrenched sexism in VC culture. <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/2/8328115/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-venture-capital-verdict/in/7972660">The trial did much to expose the uneven playing field for women in Silicon Valley</a>. However, the jury could not prove that subtle...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/4/23/8484979/kleiner-perkins-ellen-pao-court-costsKwame Opam2015-04-02T11:51:46-04:002015-04-02T11:51:46-04:00Five uncomfortable truths about the Ellen Pao verdict
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<p>Almost a week later, I do not know how I would have voted if I were on the jury for the <a target="new" href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8208619/kleiner-perkins-ellen-pao-trial-gender-discrimination">gender discrimination trial</a> against Kleiner Perkins. Given 14 pages of instructions from the judge, seven pages of questions to answer, and a mandate to decide whether Kleiner had been biased in 2012, using performance reviews from 2007 — who knows? I may have arrived at the same decision as the six women and six men who found the venture capital firm not liable. So much about this trial seemed to hinge on whether or not you found Ellen Pao sympathetic, credible, or a crusader. <a target="new" href="http://recode.net/2015/03/28/the-real-precedent-in-the-ellen-pao-case-happened-out-of-court/">From the gallery</a> in room 602 each day, my worldview changed with each new witness. But in the aftermath of the trial, I've arrived at a handful of discomfiting conclusions.</p>
<h2>It...</h2>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/4/2/8328115/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-venture-capital-verdictNitasha Tiku2015-03-27T17:10:22-04:002015-03-27T17:10:22-04:00Jury finds Kleiner Perkins not liable on all claims in Ellen Pao's gender discrimination case
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<p>After less than 72 hours of deliberation, the jury in the <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8208619/kleiner-perkins-ellen-pao-trial-gender-discrimination">gender discrimination lawsuit</a> against Kleiner Perkins found the powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firm not liable for all four of Ellen Pao’s claims, including retaliation and failure to prevent retaliation. There was a dramatic, last minute upset when Judge Kahn realized there was a miscount on the fourth claim. They needed nine out of 12 jurors for a decision and only eight voted "no." They went back into deliberations and came back with nine out of 12.</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/27/8281981/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-verdictNitasha Tiku2015-03-26T14:41:12-04:002015-03-26T14:41:12-04:00Ellen Pao vs. Ellen Pao: who will the jury believe?
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<p>The most excruciating moments in <a target="new" href="http://recode.net/2015/03/24/live-closing-arguments-in-ellen-paos-gender-discrimination-case-against-kleiner-perkins/">the last leg</a> of the gender discrimination trial against Kleiner Perkins happened Tuesday afternoon when <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8200145/ellen-pao-lynne-hermle-reddit-kleiner-perkins">Lynne Hermle</a>, Kleiner’s formidable attorney, walked away from the podium to deliver parts of her summation a few feet closer to Ellen Pao. Outside the courtroom, Pao seems light-hearted, impish even. In the elevator last week, a reporter loudly kvetched about sitting through the month-long trial, and Pao piped up: "It’ll be over soon!" From the plaintiff’s table, however, Pao can be inscrutable.</p>
<p>"Plays it close to the vest" was a critique in one of Pao's performance reviews, and Hermle has quoted it to the jury a number of times. (Like "aggressive," when applied to Pao, Kleiner Perkins meant it as a...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/26/8281973/kleiner-perkins-gender-discrimination-trial-final-argumentsNitasha Tiku2015-03-24T13:46:32-04:002015-03-24T13:46:32-04:00These questions will determine whether the jury finds Kleiner Perkins liable
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<p>Judge Harold Kahn just finished giving the jury in <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8200145/ellen-pao-lynne-hermle-reddit-kleiner-perkins">the <i>Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins</i> case</a> the verdict form they will use as a guide to determine whether the venture capital firm is liable for gender discrimination, retaliation, and failure to prevent retaliation for not promoting her to senior partner and terminating her employment after she complained about discrimination.</p>
<p>Pao, now the interim CEO of Reddit, is suing for $16 million in compensatory damages for income she lost by not being promoted and later fired. The jury has been instructed not to take into account Pao's stock options at Reddit or the loss of "carried interest," which refers to profits she may have shared as a general parter on one of Kleiner's investment funds.</p>
<p>C...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/24/8281977/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-arguments-juryNitasha Tiku2015-03-21T15:03:06-04:002015-03-21T15:03:06-04:00Ellen Pao can sue Kleiner Perkins for punitive damages, rules judge
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<p>Ellen Pao is suing for both punitive and compensatory damages in her <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8208619/kleiner-perkins-ellen-pao-trial-gender-discrimination" target="new">gender discrimination trial</a> against the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Today, Judge Harold E. Kahn <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/21/judge-rules-pao-can-pursue-punitive-damages-against-kleiner/" target="new">upheld the punitive damages claim</a>, saying, "There is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude that Kleiner Perkins engaged in intentional gender discrimination."</p>
<p>The trial is expected to reach closing arguments Tuesday. Pao, now the interim CEO of Reddit, will also be allowed to sue for compensatory damages. She is asking for $16 million in lost wages from being denied a promotion and fired from the firm in 2012. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/punitive_damages" target="new">Punitive damages</a>, however, are typically much higher because — as the name implies — the amount is meant to punish the defendant...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/21/8267273/judge-in-kleiner-perkins-trial-just-ruled-thatNitasha Tiku2015-03-17T15:55:02-04:002015-03-17T15:55:02-04:00The 'Queen of the Internet' defends Kleiner Perkins in gender discrimination trial
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<p>One catchphrase that keeps popping up in <a target="new" href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/3/8141053/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-venture-capital">the Kleiner Perkins trial</a> is "needed a win." Why was Ellen Pao denied a board seat? Kleiner patriarch John Doerr said the senior partner who got the gig "needed a win." "Kleiner needed a win. Everybody needed a win. I could use some wins," he added. If a billionaire venture capitalist like Doerr is aching for a win, just imagine how equal rights advocates in Silicon Valley — faced with platitudes about diversity, being called crazy, or deafening silence — feel. However, <a target="new" href="http://recode.net/2015/03/16/liveblog-mary-meeker-testifies-in-paokleiner-perkins-case/">yesterday’s testimony</a> from Mary "Queen of the Internet" Meeker reinforced the sentiment that Pao’s $16 million lawsuit may not be the case to hang their hopes on. <br><br>"I think Kleiner Perkins is the best place to be a woman in the...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/17/8228649/mary-meeker-ellen-pao-kleiner-perkinsNitasha Tiku