Silicon Valley and its main industries–tech companies and venture capital firms–has been long under fire for its lack of gender diversity. From depressing statistics about the diversity of various tech companies, to female developer Adria Richards live tweeting sexist comments at a tech conference in 2013, Silicon Valley has done plenty to live up to that reputation. However, if you’re looking for a pretty damning example of sexism in the industry, look no further than the recent Ellen Pao-Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers case, decided late last week. The decision concluded that the prominent VC firm didn’t discriminate against former employee Pao.

Pao, who is now the interim CEO of social media and news site “Reddit,” started at the prestigious venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers in 2005. A graduate of Princeton, Harvard Law, and Harvard Business School, she was brought on as the chief of staff for John Doerr, one of the senior partners at the firm. Doerr–who was involved in the success of Netscape, Amazon, and Google–is well known as one of Kleiner’s most prominent voices. Pao was then made a junior investing partner, but was never made a senior partner, and was fired in 2012.

Her suit alleged that she was passed over for the senior partner promotion based on sex discrimination, that she was retaliated against for complaining about sex discrimination, and that she was fired because of the complaints she levied. Kleiner claimed that they treated her fairly, and passed her over because she was not going to be a good fit for the job. Pao argues that men with similar profiles and histories were promoted when she wasn’t. Pao’s suit asked for $16 million total, a combination of both punitive and compensatory damages.

The suit was decided against Pao–in other words, it was concluded that Kleiner was not guilty of sex discrimination. Based on the information that the jury had, I have no reason to believe they decided the case as anything other than fairly and to the best of their ability. But there’s an important distinction here–Kleiner can both be not discriminatory and still be a really crappy place to work.

That’s pretty much exactly what happened–Pao brought up a lot of pretty bad evidence about Kleiner’s employees and culture. While Kleiner did end up successful in the suit, they were still dragged through through the mud. Examples cited by Pao include Doerr, who had seemingly always been one of her biggest supporters and mentors, saying to an investor that she had “a female chip on her shoulder.” She also complained that partner Ajit Nazre retaliated against her after their consensual relationship ended. When she complained to Ray Lane, another high-ranking partner, he told her to marry Nazre to solve her problems. She claims another partner gave her a book of sexually explicit drawings, and that yet another didn’t invite women to parties because they “kill the buzz.” It wasn’t all just about Pao, either, as there was discussion of an incident in which Nazre showed up at a female junior partner’s hotel room in just a bathrobe, propositioning her.

So, while Kleiner may not have been guilty of discriminating against Pao specifically because of her gender, it’s pretty clear that they didn’t act appropriately at every turn. This isn’t any sort of surprising revelation–gender discrimination and sexism have long been alleged in Silicon Valley–but this case certainly didn’t help to dispel that concept. While Pao didn’t get her money, she certainly made her point.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Six months out of law school, I’m finding myself starting over personally, professionally, and even socially.  Some, but not all, of my friends totally understand where I’m coming from with regard to this sentiment.  One of these friends is Drake (naturally, because we’re both half-Jewish, Canadian former child stars turned world-famous rappers).  You didn’t know?

You guys! I double majored!

When I started work after college, I was really at the bottom of the bottom.  I accepted my status because I only had a bachelor’s degree.  Not just any kind of Bachelor’s Degree- A bachelor of Arts.  The B.A. in 2013 is like…a three legged puppy.  It’s cute and it has endless possibilities, but its path takes a little bit longer. A lot of people can be successful with them, but most of us have to spend two to four additional (miserable) years in graduate programs so that our salaries can catch up to our lifestyles.  And by most of us, I mean liberal arts majors.

“What are these lifestyles,” you ask? Oh, you know, just trying to live in a nice apartment with MAYBE one roommate, while still being able to afford things like food, clothing, entertainment, and repayments to a horrible woman named Sallie Mae.  (If you haven’t met her yet, trust me when I say she’s garbage).

I’m super anti-guns, and this is NOT a literal interpretation of how I feel about educational debt. It’s close though.

I’ve got a J.D. and I’m working! #Winning!

Trying to rediscover having nights and weekends to myself is tricky.  Knowing that there are no more winter, spring, and summer breaks is depressing. Contemplating grown-up stuff like 401Ks, a savings account, and navigating the treacherous terrain that is a Thursday night happy hour is stressful. We’re at the bottom, and trying to get to wherever the heck “here” is located. Or at least I’m not “here,” despite being a law school graduate for half a year.  Doesn’t that count for something?  Oh.  No?  Still at the bottom.

And it’s the same at work!  Let’s say you’ve gotten a new job.  Even if the job isn’t a perfect fit for you, it’s nice to be productive, learn through professional experiences, and become a cog that helps your organization continue to be a well-oiled machine.

However, there is a lot of bureaucracy in certain jobs, and a lot of steps that are necessary solely because that’s how it’s been done in the past.  Sometimes these steps aren’t helpful, and are relics of a different time.  In other words, they suck.

Law School Prepared Me for this…right?

In 2013, I’m not sure if I need sexual harassment training to let me know that it’s inappropriate to call a female co-worker “baby” or “honey,” and I definitely don’t need to be reminded that I shouldn’t offer said female co-worker a massage.  I’m not Don Draper. Also, the Friends episode where Chandler’s boss kept slapping him on the butt taught me all I need to know about where my hands can and cannot go.

Conversely, there isn’t training with regard to other types of workplace discrimination. The Senate recently passed an anti-bias gay-rights bill.  This bill seeks to combat the lack of explicit protections with regard to sexual orientation in the workplace. Areas like this are where employers should be putting their training muster, methinks.  BUT WHO AM I?

I can’t suggest that! I’m the new guy.  I sit quietly and listen to all of the banter that definitely would NOT pass the “safe space” test of my small, liberal arts college. Alas, I ride the wave until I move up the totem pole.  You know…”here.”

And when being at the bottom gets to be too much, just say to yourself, “just hold on, we’re going home.”

See? Just like Drake.

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Peter Davidson is a recent graduate of law school who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy.

Featured image courtesy of [ken Sutherland via Flickr]

[.gifs provided by @tkylemac and MTV Buzzworthy, duh.]

Peter Davidson II

Peter Davidson is a recent law school graduate who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Contact Peter at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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