Ellen Pao files appeal in Silicon Valley gender discrimination case

Ellen Pao filed a notice of appeal Monday in a high-profile gender discrimination case, just two months after a San Francisco jury found a powerful venture capital firm did not discriminate against Pao when she was fired in 2012.

The five-week trial, which highlighted allegations of gender inequality in the overwhelmingly male dominated tech industry, centered on Pao’s contention that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers fired her for speaking up about what she considered poor treatment within the firm.

Heather Wilson, a spokeswoman for Pao, confirmed the 45-year-old had filed a notice of appeal with the state Court of Appeal. Wilson declined to comment further.

Pao, who has served as the interim chief executive of Reddit since late 2014, was seeking more than $16 million in compensatory damages and up to $144 million in punitive damages. At trial, the investment firm argued Pao was simply a disgruntled former employee.

An email to Pao’s attorney seeking further comment was not immediately returned. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said in a statement that the matter had already been settled by the jury verdict in March.

“A 12-member jury found decisively in favor of KPCB on all four claims. We remain committed to gender diversity in the workplace and believe that women in technology would be best served by focusing on this issue outside of continued litigation,” Christina Lee, a partner with the firm who manages media relations, said in the statement.

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