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Jury clears Silicon Valley firm in gender discrimination case

By Amy R. Connolly

SAN FRANCISCO, March 28 (UPI) -- A prominent venture capital firm was cleared of gender discrimination accusations by a former partner, in a lawsuit that rattled Silicon Valley.

After three days of deliberations, a jury cleared Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers of allegations Ellen Pao was passed over for promotions and fired because of her gender. The company was also cleared of claims it retaliated against her. At the same time, experts lauded the case for putting a national spotlight on gender inequality in the tech industry.

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"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," Joelle Emerson, founder of diversity consulting firm Paradigm, told USA Today. "I am confident this conversation will lead to important changes both in Silicon Valley and nationwide."

Pao joined Kleiner Perkins, the firm that backed Google and Amazon.com, in 2005 and was eventually promoted to junior partner, but was never bumped to senior partner. In her claim, she described how she was subjected to discussions about porn, given a gift of erotic poetry by a senior male colleague and excluded from all-male dinner parties. Pao claimed the company did nothing to prevent the discrimination and fired her in 2012 for complaining. She asked for $16 million in compensatory damages plus punitive damages.

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Kleiner Perkins said Pao was a difficult employee, with multiple witnesses saying she twisted the facts and blew small events into big ones during her tenure. The company also said she lacked the necessary credentials to be a venture capitalist.

In a statement, the company said the verdict reaffirms the case was meritless.

"We are grateful to the jury for its careful examination of the facts. There is no question gender diversity in the workplace is an important issue. KPCB remains committed to supporting women in venture capital and technology both inside our firm and within our industry."

As she left the courtroom, Pao, now interim CEO of the social media site Reddit, said, "If I've helped to level the playing field for women and minorities in venture capital, then the battle was worth it."

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