Most surprising to some about the Kleiner Perkins trial was how the venture capital firm framed the gifting by a partner of plaintiff Ellen Pao with a book of erotic poetry as “innocent,” and the revelation that the firm had no sexual discrimination policy in place.
“It is the exception not to have a sexual discrimination policy,” said Bennett Pine, attorney and chair of Anderson Kill’s employment and labor group. “Every company should have one, and it should say the company is against it and any complaints of discrimination or harassment should be brought to its attention.”
He also added that gifts between coworkers should be appropriate in nature.
Pao sought compensatory damages of $16 million plus punitive damages after claiming the Silicon Valley-based firm failed to promote her to senior partner because of her gender, retaliated when she complained, failed to prevent discrimination and fired her in 2012 for complaining.
The trial, unusual in that discrimination charges tend to be settled out of court, also involved a business related to technology. That industry has lately been beset with criticisms of its treatment of women, whose representation among its ranks has been waning.
Nevertheless, Pine told Advisen, “the jury bought that she didn’t have the skillset” to make full partner.
The jurors, most of whom did not work in the technology sector or finance, may have found Pao “unsympathetic, thought that she earned a lot of money anyway or didn’t relate to her” in other ways, he said, in accounting for her loss on all of the charges.
