Ellen Pao May Appeal Her Gender Discrimination Case. Here's Why She Won Even If She Doesn't
(via Reuters)
Ellen Pao — the central figure in the high-profile gender discrimination case that took place in Silicon Valley last month — has become a symbol.
This much is clear from her first sit-down interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric. In a discussion that touched on the ingrained sexism and racism in startup culture, Pao — who is currently interim CEO of Reddit— made it clear she has not been dissuaded in her belief that women and minorities have it harder in the Valley, despite her loss in court. In fact, she says it was all worth it.
“It was hard, but it was rewarding,” she told Couric. “Things … are often rewarding, [but] you might not appreciate it at the time. You just have to look past the hard parts and just keep going.”
Last month, Pao lost on all charges her suit claiming that her gender was a substantial motivating factor in the decision of her former employer, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, to not promote her to senior partner. The court also found that her termination from the firm was not a retaliation for the lawsuit she filed. Pao had sought $16 million in compensation for lost wages.
Despite her court loss, the tech world was captivated by the look at the juicy inner workings of one of the tech world’s wealthiest venture capital firms. Many were equally horrified to hear the day-to-day challenges faced by a woman in a high-powered Silicon Valley workplace — a woman who earned a BS in electrical engineering at Princeton and a law degree and an MBA from Harvard.
Pao told Couric she’s still mulling whether she’ll appeal the case with her lawyers, saying only, “We’re in the midst of making some decisions.”
She nevertheless spoke fiercely about a “boys’ club” culture that she says prevents women and minorities from ascending in the workplace, and also made it clear that similar attitudes are what prevent minorities from succeeding in the workplace.
“I do think there is a lot of discrimination based on race,” she told Couric. “It’s something that people are experiencing. Men of other races who have had similar experience as mine, they’ve come to tell me about them. … People feel uncomfortable with people who are different than them, whether it’s gender or race or religion or sexuality. How do we make people realize that having people with different perspectives, having people who are equally talented, is important?”
Pao may have failed to legally prove the frustrating dynamics that prevent women and minorities from holding high-powered positions in the startup world. But in her journey to address the personal wrongs she experienced, she has emerged as the spokesperson for a movement that is still seeking genuine, inspiring leaders.
Sheryl Sandberg may have told us to “lean in.” But bespectacled, soft-spoken Pao has taught us to speak out. It’s that kind of proactive radicalism that may very well change things for the better in an industry still largely controlled by men.
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