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Ellen Pao Loses Silicon Valley Bias Case Against Kleiner Perkins
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- Sidnicious 12y agoWhy?
- RDeckard 12y agoBecause she's a woman.
- spcoll 12y agoAbsolutely shocking. Ellen Pao is a hero for daring to speak out against KPCB, and the men on this jury are a disgrace. This is a great time to show support for women who are STANDING UP against abuse and discrimination in tech.
- psbp 12y agoI'm watching the recode live stream and a considerable portion of the jury are women, especially asian women. --------------------------------------------- Liz Gannes 4 MINUTES AGO Mr. Barclay, juror 12, white man. No to first claim questions, no to second claim questions, no to fourth claim. Liz Gannes 6 MINUTES AGO Ms. Chan, juror 11, Asian woman. No to first claim questions, no to second claim questions, yes to fourth claim. Liz Gannes 7 MINUTES AGO Ms. Hiramoto, juror 10, Asian woman. No to first claim questions, no to second claim questions, no to fourth claim. Liz Gannes 7 MINUTES AGO Juror 9, Mr. Chu, Asian man. No to first claim questions, no to second claim questions, no to fourth. Liz Gannes 8 MINUTES AGO Ms. Lyon, juror 8, white woman. No to first claim questions, no to second claim questions, no to fourth claim. Liz Gannes 9 MINUTES AGO Ms. Lowe, juror 7, Asian woman. No to first claim questions, no to second claim questions, no to fourth claim. Liz Gannes 9 MINUTES AGO Mr Chan, juror 6, Asian man. No to all claims. Liz Gannes 10 MINUTES AGO Mr. Mejillo, juror 5, Hispanic man. Yes to first claim questions, yes to second claim questions, yes to fourth claim questions. Liz Gannes 11 MINUTES AGO Juror 4, Ms. Trujillo. She says no to all claims. Liz Gannes 11 MINUTES AGO Juror 3, Mr. Jones, a white man. He says no to all claims except Pao being fired as retaliation for lawsuit. Liz Gannes 12 MINUTES AGO Juror 1, Mr. Jones, is a white man. He says no on all claims. Juror 2, Ms. Ramsey, is a black woman. She says yes to all three questions on claim 1. She says yes to all questions on claim 2. She says yes to claim 4.
- bigdubs 12y agoIt was 6 men, 6 women.
- jusben1369 12y agoI suppose technically that's a "considerable portion" :)
- zachberger 12y agoThe jury was six men women.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- alayne 12y agoMs. Trujillo is also a woman. 6 men. 6 women. What do you think the distribution should be?
- justathrow2k 12y agoAnd what of the women on the jury?
- Disruptive_Dave 12y agoHow about the 6 women on the jury?
- EduardoBautista 12y agoHalf of the jury were women.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- khuey 12y agoApparently the judge sent them back to further deliberate the claim that she was fired for this lawsuit.
- conover 12y agoLink to the recode.net live stream: http://recode.net/2015/03/27/live-the-pao-v-kleiner-perkins-verdict/ http://recode.net/2015/03/27/live-the-pao-v-kleiner-perkins-...
- minimaxir 12y agoNot so fast: https://twitter.com/NellieBowles/status/581566725889490944 https://twitter.com/NellieBowles/status/581566725889490944 > The jury was 8/4 on one count, so the judge says he can't accept the verdict right now, has sent them back into deliberations.
- mirashii 12y agoOut of curiosity, does anyone know if this is a common action by judges, or something out of the ordinary?
- us0r 12y agoNot sure on this but a few parts of this case are out of the ordinary like the jury asking questions during the case.
- ketralnis 12y agoI sat on a California civil jury last year, and we were able to ask witnesses questions. They were heavily filtered and reworded by the judge and attorneys, and asked by the judge. I think it strongly affected the outcome in my case.
- dragonwriter 12y ago> Not sure on this but a few parts of this case are out of the ordinary like the jury asking questions during the case. AFAIK, jurors asking questions (or, at least, proposing questions which are reviewed by the counsel and actually asked by the judge) is not out of the ordinary anymore in trial courts in California. Certainly the criminal case I served on a jury for included that. Most of the sources I can find on it are somewhat old (around 2000) and indicate that it was then not legally mandated to be allowed, and that a minority of judges did it but it was growing in popularity (they also indicate that even then, it was mandated in some states that jurors be permitted to submit questions.) It may still not be a majority practice, but I've seen it frequently referenced in news reports of cases, so I don't think its particularly unusual anymore.
- 12y ago
- chaostheory 12y agoCouldn't a lot of problems be averted if companies were more aggressive in frowning upon romantic relationships in the workplace?
- pauloday 12y agoAs far as I can tell, this entire thing could've been avoided by a competent HR department.
- zaidf 12y agoWhoever at Kleiner decided to pay her $33,000/mo for 6 mos as severance was a genius.
- yitchelle 12y agoPlease explain?
- craigyk 12y agonot sure, but what jury is going to be sympathetic to someone getting paid a 500k salary (higher than her peers) and receiving such generous severance?
- trhway 12y agoshe got 6 months of her salary just for behaving like a complete jerk impossible to work with (i've read pretty much whole Recode live stream). Most probably taking the money she even signed typical papers accompanying severance like waiving right to sue, etc...
- Someone1234 12y agoThat sounds like a supreme court case waiting to happen. Why should companies have the right to tell employees what they can and cannot do in their own time? What next, authorisation to have a child? Your employer signing off on where you live?
- Someone1234 12y agoThat article isn't trying to remain impartial at all. By about half way down they gave up all pretence and started arguing that Pao's case was valid/accurate even if the jury disagreed. You'd almost think the author forgot she actually lost. 12 people decided she had no case, what would be enough for this author? 20? 50? I doubt even that would do it, they've pre-decided what actually occurred.
- smackfu 12y agoThe verdict just happened. Writing the article did not.
- Someone1234 12y agoThat's an interesting point. I didn't actually consider that maybe they pre-wrote this article. That does explain a lot.
- jckt 12y agoIndeed, the last sentence > One of the stranger points brought up in testimony was how Ms. Pao, before she was married, had dated a colleague for six months without ever realizing he was still living with his wife. sounds like the article wasn't even finished.
- sp332 12y ago"Realizing"? She asked him about it and he lied to her.
- scott_karana 12y agoYes, and she was in a relationship for six months after the lie and failed to realize he was still married. (Or, she lied)
- rosser 12y ago...and what about the married man who was also in that relationship, and lying about being married for those six months? And not just a lie of omission, but "We aren't together any more." Yeah, maybe she ... "showed questionable judgement" for believing his lies, but he actively lied. What does that say about his judgement?
- rhino369 12y agoI think it is very clear that there is an environment in tech world that is off putting to women and it probably discriminates against women in general. But it isn't at all clear to me that Ellen Pao got rejected from partnership because she was a woman. I assume that is why the jury sided with Kleiner Perkins.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- enraged_camel 12y agoI only followed this from afar, but my understanding is that the defense did a terrific job and that's the main reason Pao lost. They were able to successfully paint her as someone who is very unpleasant to work with and not entirely honest either. Once her character was assassinated, it was easy to sway the jury against her. I may be wrong though.
- sp332 12y agoArs Technica has a series of articles on the case. They go into detail about the various claims on both sides and the feeling in the courtroom. https://arstechnica.com/series/pao-vs-kleiner-perkins/ https://arstechnica.com/series/pao-vs-kleiner-perkins/
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- kzhahou 12y agoThat's too simplistic. Pao's claims had huge holes. * She was sent to the back row during a retreat! (except the day before, when she was given front row) * She wasn't given enough guidance and didn't have a fair shot at the firm! (except JOHN DOERR actively mentored her) * Her harasser at the firm was not fired! (except she told the partners over email that the guy should not be let go) etc
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- trhway 12y ago>Once her character was assassinated, if there was something to assassinate... Pao was complaining that her colleague's assistant was sending from the office brain scans of dying from brain cancer mother.
- gojomo 12y agoIf you know the principals involved, or saw everything the jury saw (including legal instructions from the judge), you might have a valid opinion on why any particular legal result is either scandalous or righteous. But if you're just a distant spectator, cheering a team based on general affinities to the kind of people on either side, or general causes without regard to the case specifics... then you're actually part of the problem, making workplaces and communities unfair to real people based on superficialities and acquired prejudices.
- brighteyes 12y agoThis is the best comment here, and among the only ones relevant. This trial is about two parties. It isn't a proper representative in any way of any other parties or of any larger ideas or trends in tech. 12 people were tasked with carefully listening to all the evidence over a month, and not listening to the media summaries. They decided for KP. We have very reasonable basis to trust that they got it right, or that at least they did as well as we could given the same evidence. What does this say, if anything, about more general matters? Bayesian statistics might suggest that it decreases the belief in rampant sexism among VCs. But by how much, it's really impossible to tell. So we don't have much of a basis to change any general views on the industry based on this case. Just like it would have been had the verdict been the opposite (but again, Bayesian-wise it would have been some amount of support to the opposite position).
- devindotcom 12y agoLet's not let the outcome of this specific case affect the idea that there is an institutional bias - conscious or unconscious - against women entering and thriving in male-dominated fields like this one. Just as one flurry in April doesn't disprove global warming, one dismissed lawsuit doesn't disprove a deep but sometimes subtle sexism. It's the same with other powerful prejudices that have endured for centuries or millennia. There are many factors acting against women, just as there are many working against people of color, the poor, and those who do not cleave to traditional sexual or gender norms. Please do what you can to support these people in your life, in all their endeavors.
- api 12y agoAs I like to put it: Sure there's people who make spurious claims, and a few who get paranoid and blame discrimination for every setback they have. But that's sort of not relevant. The existence of mis-diagnoses and hypochondriacs doesn't disprove the existence of a disease. Edit: my comment is 'meta.' I know little about this case, so I don't have a strong opinion on it.
- rayiner 12y agoI don't think the claims were "spurious." There was enough meat there where just because she lost doesn't mean there was no merit to her position. Also, I think she was an unsympathetic plaintiff. Being rich and sleeping with a married man shouldn't prejudice your case, but it does.
- michaelochurch 12y agoTo add to her being unsympathetic, she played politics and she played it badly. One might argue that she felt a need to play politics because she was coming from behind (being female) and that her political salvos were more penalized because of her gender (which probably was true) than they would have been if performed by men, but it makes her not an innocent victim. This shouldn't matter, insofar as she's not on trial, but it's another bias-inducing factor. The suit was not at all frivolous and, assuming Ellen Pao is rational, the fact that it existed at all is an indictment of the Valley. People don't sue ex-employers lightly, and she had John Doerr as an ally. So what I wonder is: what happened to fuck up her career so much that suing, with a mediocre case against a company that can call dozens of witnesses whom it employs, seemed the best option? It seems to suggest that the sleazy back-channeling that the Valley is constantly accused of is really there. (The idea that she was doing it for the money, because of her husband's finances, I find absurd. I could be wrong but I didn't see it as remotely likely that she'd get $16M, even if she won.) This is the story that piques my curiosity, because if I were her, I would have taken the severance and John Doerr's recommendation (and a contractually-mandated positive reference) as the ticket anywhere I wanted to go. What was done to her reputation that made that not possible? (Or am I completely wrong in this analysis?)
- curiously 12y ago[post deleted by Ellen Pao]
- evan_ 12y ago> reddit posts about her husband were being censored Pure conspiracy theory.
- arprocter 12y ago/r/technology just removed a thread about this verdict for 'not being about technology'. Seems to me that mods are wary that even discussing this issue may put their sub in the crosshairs, and use tenuous reasons to delete. Edit: the /r/news thread about this which was at the top of 'rising' has suddenly disappeared from there... Edit2: now it came back again
- feybay 12y agoNot really, I've seen a lot of threads about her get deleted. You can go on /r/undelete and see posts deleted.
- olh 12y agoIt wasn't. See the commotion for yourself now that users can search her name again: http://www.reddit.com/search?q=Ellen+Pao&restrict_sr=off&sort=relevance&t=all http://www.reddit.com/search?q=Ellen+Pao&restrict_sr=off&sor...
- harryh 12y agoShe's currently CEO of Reddit.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- josh2600 12y agoThis is hard. Nothing about this is easy. Moving forward, we should all work to make workplaces where everyone can feel wanted. I don't think Race or Gender matters and I would not want to work somewhere where it does. I want to work in a place where the caliber of my work is what matters, not the color of my skin or my genitals. This is a long battle that may never be won, but it doesn't mean we should stop fighting.
- r00fus 12y agoI agree with you although I would phrase it differently (a la Star Trek's IDIC): diversity is a form of strength. In a situation with strong institutional bias towards reduced diversity, it just feels wrong to me.
- MichaelGG 12y agoIs there any evidence that diversity based on racial appearance translates into business strength? I'm guessing that two random, say, Ivy League grads are more similar than two random <specific race> individuals.
- r00fus 12y agoI mentioned nothing of race, in fact, gender and sexual orientation are likely just as important to diversity not to mention background and upbringing. That crazy left-field idea might be your key pivot or feature.
- joshuapants 12y ago> diversity is a form of strength Is that necessarily true? Do you have some kind of data backing that up or is it just one of the Good Things that people like to say? For example, this article[1] discusses civic involvement, but it's conceivable that diversity in a business environment could have a similar effect. Before the downvote brigade steps in, let me mention that I don't think diversity is a bad thing, just that it might not be inherently positive. I think diversity needs to be coupled with some sort of unity (whether it's a corporate motto like "THINK" at IBM, or a common religion, etc.) in order for it not to negatively impact a group. [1] http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/04/the_downside_of_diversity/?page=full http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/04/t...
- boomzilla 12y agoThis is a hypothetical question: given the public information Ellen Pao was going spend a couple of weeks on this trial, plus a lot of other distractions that came with the trial, would the Reddit board have been biased if they had not picked her as interim CEO, with the reason being that she might not have devoted enough time and mental effort to running the company?
- sukilot 12y agoIt's a hard problem. Good leaders get crushed by forces outside the business, and it's not always practical to say "take a vacation or downshift duties for a while". Personally I have a low faith in outsider CEO hires anyway, though
- bruceb 12y agoI wonder what KP offered before trial. I guess not more than $1m or maybe she would have settled?
- nazgul 12y agoWith her husband's massive financial problems, there's no way $1 million would have made this worth it for her.
- ryanackley 12y agoI was totally sympathetic to Ellen Pao therefore I'm interested to hear why the jury sided with the defense. Does anyone know if there are any undisputable facts or was it basically he said/she said?
- comrade1 12y agoI love listening to all of you dudes sticking up for her. My female tech friends are harder on her than any of you. They seem to have this funny notion that you shouldn't fuck around at work.
- rimantas 12y agoYeah, I kinda consider guys fighting for the women right just an another expression of sexism.
- d-a-r-y-l 12y agowhite knighting
- mod 12y agoWhat wouldn't qualify, then? If women are fighting for women's rights, I don't see the difference. That would be sexism too, right (by a different sex)? In reality, fighting for the rights of an oppressed group, regardless of one's gender, is not sexist. The fact that the oppression is gender-based in this case really just cannot qualify the fight against it as "another expression of sexism."
- grandalf 12y agoOne could argue that part of that is just "shaming" her for doing something that they would be less likely to fault a man for doing. On the other hand, mixing business with pleasure like that is a risky move. But so is rejecting advances from a more senior / more established person. If we assume Pao was always Machiavellian, she might even have had the affair because she thought it increased her chances of making partner. When people are sufficiently self-actualized and machiavellian, they often play some fairly complex strategies. This lawsuit, even though she lost, is perhaps the third best option for her, since she's had millions of dollars of free publicity and can surely leverage that to start her own fund, be more prominent on deals, etc. edit: The above is based on the assumption that she lost the case fair and square and that she knew that was a possibility going in, and that she's looking at her best options every day (like rational actors do). It is not intended to be insensitive to the emotional side of it, since surely it was very difficult and upsetting to go through (and to be in the limelight over something that is gossipy and not part of the professional or public identity she likely intended to have).
- pfisch 12y agoSo she had an affair with her superior right? I think its strange how many articles and interviews I have heard in the last two days where somehow that is not mentioned.
- gitdude 12y agoI find it very interesting that the african american woman and the hispanic man in the jury - both minorities voted "yes" while the predominantly white and asian jurors voted "no". Is it possible that people who are discriminated against understand the subtle biases which cannot be captured by evidence or law.
- colmvp 12y agoAre you suggesting that we Asians aren't minorities? That we don't get or understand what is it to be discriminated against?
- Crito 12y agoUnfortunately that does seems to be a delusion has been gaining traction in some circles recently.
- Diamons 12y agoAsians are not minorities. Asian people account for 60% of the entire world's population. Just because a group faces discrimination does not make them a minority.
- andylei 12y agoi guess that makes white males minorities.
- ericleung 12y agoTroll. You clearly know what is meant in this context. Asians are indeed minorities in the context of the United States, just as Caucasians are minorities in Asia. It is pointless to say that Asians are the world's leading majority, when in an individual context such as this one, they are not.
- themoonbus 12y ago"A Minority, a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. As the term is used in the social sciences, this subordinancy is the chief defining characteristic of a minority group." Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384500/minority http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384500/minority So, facing discrimination, which I would think is part of being subordinate, does make you a minority.
- bishnu 12y agoCourt cases aren't just about the verdict. What was revealed about the inner culture of KP was very enlightening...and I suspect we're about to be enlightened about similar things at Facebook and Twitter. If at the very least these conversations start happening out in the open, this case is a large step forward for the gender discussion in tech.
- yuhong 12y agoAs a side note, I think the current US anti-discrimination laws are probably flawed, not because discrimination is not bad but because of problems with enforcement. I am thinking of imposing anti-discrimination conditions on specific companies instead.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- enlightenedfool 12y agoGood time to be woman in tech. My company has a special program to identify and promote specifically women to management roles. Not meritocracy. Even a male in a team works and performs better, he loses because the policy is to get some percentage of women into leadership. Let the down voting begin.
- feybay 12y agoMeritocracy is a myth, didn't you hear?
- Crito 12y agoNow we know why they hated that rug so much.
- naturalrecursin 12y ago100% agree with you. I actually regularly tell my female friends that their is no better time for them to get into the tech industry. As long as they can match the "average ability" then they can pretty much get their pick of the jobs, as well as countless benefits in their schooling. I'm currently in school now majoring in computer science. I'd say its about 70-30 guys to girls in my comp sci classes, but 65-35 girls to guys in the whole school(Of course no one gives a shit that there is basically 2 girls for every guy in the school). Every week I receive emails from my faculty that are along the lines of "Come to this event to promote women in technology" or "Come participate in this high school event to get girls more interested in technology". As well the amount of women only benefits is astonishing. This includes numerous scholarships, special tutorials, private talks etc.. Anyways the school is fairly well known for its computer science program and has very good connections to the tech industry. If you are top of the class you will most likely get a job at any of the big companies. If you are a girl and around average you will also likely get a job at any of the big companies. This isn't to say their are some very talented girls who deserve it. Last thing that I find pretty hilarious. Lets say for example Google is hosting an event where you can ask questions and get to know the recruiters. They will also hold a separate event the next day which is for women only. And it's not only Google I'd say its pretty much every big company that does this. They don't even hide the fact you have a huge advantage in getting the job you want just because your female.
- comrade1 12y agoI wonder if there'll be blowback against ms pao as a result of this verdict. She did much to harm successful womens' reputations in the tech industry with her behavior and innapropriate lawsuit. They're already having to bury/censor threads concerning this case at reddit, her new company.
- borgia 12y ago>They're already having to bury/censor threads concerning this case at reddit, her new company. They don't have to bury or censor them, they're just actively doing it and have been since the trial began. Anything related to Ellen or her husband generally got deleted fairly rapidly or hidden from being searchable. In any case, the community at Reddit seem to absolutely despise her and with a Reddit staff member apparently offering to testify against her at the trial, I would be surprised if she were kept around much longer.
- JDiculous 12y ago$33k/month severance plus benefits and bonus? It's absurd how much money venture capitalists make for essentially handing out money.
- michaelochurch 12y agoAwful title ("Silicon Valley Bias Claims Rejected"). A jury found that Kleiner Perkins did not, based on evidence Pao submitted, find sufficient cause to believe that the firm itself was not in violation of the Civil Rights Act. I would (very hesitantly) agree with that verdict. Sloppy HR and disgusting office politics and fraudulent performance reviews? Yes. Intentional gender discrimination? Probably not. Silicon Valley is still as biased and unfair as ever. It will probably get worse, after this verdict. A better title would be "Kleiner Perkins Not Proven Guilty of Gender Discrimination, Jury Says".
- jongraehl 12y ago> ... the freewheeling ways of the male-dominated technology industry increasingly drew scrutiny. > Episodes of men behaving badly make the news frequently here, whether it is sexism or harassment in the workplace or just derogatory attitudes toward women. So the story in the NYT is that it's a story in the NYT (unless by "here" the author means tech or SV? Either way, Narrative is a juggernaut. The thinking and the story becomes more founded in what people are saying than what is.)
- colmvp 12y ago> Ms. Pao, it emerged in testimony, compiled a “resentment” chart of colleagues who, she believed, wronged her. Wow. How petty. There's so many things that came from this case that make me question how much of the testimony from her is real and how much of it is in her head. Another example, from a recent re/code article: > Ellen Pao said she filed her gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partly because of three female administrative assistants who had been discriminated against because of their gender > There is only one problem: No one in the courtroom seems to know where these admins are. No one seems to know the details of their grievances. No one in court, including Pao, even knows all their names. And then: > Pao also said she was told by Kleiner Perkins talent partner Juliet de Baubigny that Nazre was a “sex addict.” To her, that pointed to a larger unspoken history. “I thought she must have additional information and maybe about the administrative assistants,” Pao said. > Asked on the stand today whether she ever called Nazre a “sex addict,” de Baubigny replied, “No, that is completely ridiculous.”
- Smoofer 12y agoWell, the last example is really a "he said/she said" situation, to be fair. If there's no proof otherwise besides Pao's testimony, it would make sense that de Baubigny would say it never happened. I did think the "resentment chart" was very high school, though.
- sukilot 12y agoI am sad to see this bigotry that looks down on people who organize their thoughts and experiences on paper, vs keeping mental grudges that are likely psychologically biased.
- Smoofer 12y agoThere's nothing inherently wrong with keeping a list like that - just the way it is presented in the article makes it feel very juvenile.
- return0 12y agoThere was a time when 'tech news' was about computers.
- krylon 12y agoYes, but technology does not happen in a vacuum, and the sociological ecotope from which it emerges can be quite interesting to those involved and to society in general.
- zone411 12y agoI encourage everybody to read the closing arguments liveblog at http://recode.net/2015/03/24/live-closing-arguments-in-ellen-paos-gender-discrimination-case-against-kleiner-perkins/ http://recode.net/2015/03/24/live-closing-arguments-in-ellen... to see the defense's side of the story that is at least based on facts established during the trial before believing seriously biased mainstream news stories unquestioningly repeating Pao's initial claims (or HN posters jumping to conclusions with their claims of "damning" testimony or "sexual harassment.") The VCs might be assholes and there is real harassment happening but there was just no evidence of discrimination in this particular case and if it was decided differently, it would have been a setback to both men and women in the workplace.
- youngButEager 12y agoFirms that are bad to their employees get busted fast. Firms that are bad to their employees - that comes from the top people who set the tone and culture. If the people at the top were bad, KPCB would have been kaput LONG LONG AGO. KPCB has been around for FORTY THREE years. If the people at the top -- who are still there after all this time -- were bad to their employees, we'd have heard about it a LONG time ago. John Doerr runs the firm. John Doerr has been there for Thirty-Five Years. We would have known long ago if KPCB was bad to their employees, because the same people have been at the top running the firm all this time. After you've been in the workplace (and this may not apply if you're just an 'individual contributor' type of person) and seen the narcissism up close -- and seen it more than once -- and you've read the description of the 'narcissistic personality disorder' profile -- you'd see Ellen Pao all over: * Pretending to be more important than they really are * Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating their achievements * Claiming to be an "expert" at many things * Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people * An obvious self-focus in interpersonal exchanges * Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships In short, she had problems with others at KPCB. The jury saw that John Doerr very gently tried to help her. That was all the way back in 2006, at her very first review. From 2005 until she was fired, she was working there on borrowed time. Anyone else with the consistently bad teamwork skills would have been let go LONG ago. Only because the head of the firm, John Doerr, tried over and over to help her 'get over herself', was she able to remain employed there. Again, if you've ever worked with this type of personality, you'd have known, after reading her history (link below), that her lawsuit was the narcissist' siren call, "I know I did well, and no one else thinks I did, so they need to be punished". http://www.paradisepost.com/business/20150304/john-doerr-testifies-he-fought-to-keep-ellen-pao http://www.paradisepost.com/business/20150304/john-doerr-tes...
- imh 12y agoI've always liked the analogy to Barry Bonds for this kind of thing. There's a famous quote out there that goes something like, you can't point to any specific home run and say "he hit that one because of steroids," but you can be sure he hit more home runs because of them. I think that kind of reasoning applies equally here. You can't necessarily point to bias for any given case (or at least not this one), but that doesn't mean the bias isn't there.
- dingusballs 12y agoreal feminists would celebrate the fact a woman who gets ahead 100% by sucking cock lost and setting an example that women should be valued for their skills not for how deep they can throatfuck.
- dingusballs 12y agoreal feminists would celebrate the fact a woman who gets ahead 100% by sucking cock lost and setting an example that women should be valued for their skills not for how deep they can throatfuck.
- dingusballs 12y agoSo everyone is just ignoring the fact that she only got ahead by fucking dudes?
- wyclif 12y agoI found this section both amusing and revealing: One of the stranger points brought up in testimony was how Ms. Pao, before she was married, had dated a colleague for six months without ever realizing he was still living with his wife. It seems that male nerds are not the only archetype of social ineptitude.