Pao says she wants to focus instead on helping bring more gender and ethnic diversity to the tech industry. The bulk of Pao’s statement focuses on the tremendous resources Kleiner spent on influencing perception of her claims both inside and outside the courtroom.
Pao also remarks on the incredible disparity in resources between her legal team and Kleiner Perkins.
Pao lately left her place as interim CEO of on-line dialogue discussion board and information website Reddit amid anger amongst some customers over the firing of a well-liked staffer and new insurance policies meant to struggle harassment.
Through Pao’s willingness to stand on the public stage and share her experiences and stories, she helped empower others to stand up and tell their own stories of discrimination in their workplaces. She also said that a male colleague with whom she had an affair unfairly cut her out of e-mail correspondence and upper management did nothing about it. She was sacked soon after filing her suit. She stated Pao, whose lawsuit sought $16 million in misplaced wages and bonuses, failed as an investor on the firm and sued to get an enormous payout as she was being proven the door. She stated a settlement “may need offered me with monetary advantages, however, exclusively on the nice value of silence”.
A particular example of that, in her view, was that jurors who expressed a belief that there was sexism in the tech industry were not allowed to serve on the case.
“Settlement might have provided me with financial benefits, but only at the great cost of silence”, Pao wrote in a statement provided to The Wall Street Journal and Re/code. “KPCB stays dedicated to supporting ladies and minorities in enterprise capital and know-how each inside our agency and inside our business”, the corporate stated.
After almost three years of costly court appearances, the court ruled earlier this year against her case, but Pao seemed likely to appeal the decision, despite Klenier Perkins promising to drop all legal costs if she did not appeal. “I refuse to be silent on these important issues”.
In a statement, Kleiner Perkins said that the firm is “glad to put this trial behind” them and that diversity in the workplace is ‘an important issue’. “Even the courts do not provide a level playing field, and it’s hard to afford justice”. “Personally, I plan to continue moving these issues forward by writing, investing and working in the technology industry”, she wrote.