SAN FRANCISCO — The jury handed Ellen Pao a major defeat in her sex discrimination suit against her former venture capital firm on Friday but a bigger story emerged from the five-week trial: largely male Silicon Valley has been put on notice that it needs to make big changes to how women are treated.
After two days of deliberation, a jury found that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers did not discriminate against its former junior partner.
But observers say Pao’s lawsuit still sent a strong message, not just to Sand Hill Road, home to the world’s most powerful venture capital firms, but to Silicon Valley at large by training the national spotlight on the gender imbalance in the tech industry. On Friday, the hashtag #thankyouellenpao was popular on Twitter.
“While Ellen Pao was unsuccessful in proving the facts of her case, this trial sparked an important conversation about women in venture capital, and more broadly, how bias and discrimination play out in today’s workplace,” said Joelle Emerson, founder of diversity consulting firm Paradigm. “I am confident this conversation will lead to important changes both in Silicon Valley and nationwide.”.. see more
source: usatoday
Tags: Ellen Pao, laws, Silicon valley
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