AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
![]() And it represents the firm well.”Īccording to Murphy’s testimony, what was really needed to be successful at Kleiner Perkins was to be a good investor, good board member, and a good partner-with the last being the most important. “The more you get people to want to work with you, the more they open up and share things. “Interpersonal skills are significant part of many performance reviews,” he said. Under questioning by Kleiner defense attorney Lynne Hermle, Murphy explained why he agreed personality should be reviewed in performance reviews. He recounted an incident in which Pao fell asleep at a board meeting to which he had taken her, an incident he said “was really embarrassing.” When he brought it up to Pao, he testified, she became defensive and told him, “It was boring.” He said that another time, Pao "just didn't show up" to an important summit. According to Young, Pao was treated well by Kleiner all the way up to the end. Pao's performance reviews have been a central point of contention as each side tries to use them to show Pao was or wasn't qualified for the job. She said it would have been difficult for bias to creep in because so many people contributed to the reviews. ![]() Young also testified that Kleiner had one of the most complete, thorough and well-documented performance evaluation policies she’d ever seen. Pao's team has hammered on Kleiner's inability to find a copy of an official anti-discrimination policy for an outside investigator brought in to probe claims of bias at the firm. She said it was unusual for a small firm like Kleiner to include federal Equal Employment Opportunity language in a hiring letter as they did with Pao's, intimating the firm had gone beyond the norm to highlight its commitment to equality in the workplace. if we’re looking at taking action, this shows you what Kleiner Perkins was looking for.Kleiner also called human resources expert witness Rhoma Young to the stand. Gesturing to the chart, Exelrod said, "If we’re looking at commitments to diversity, not lip service. “If John Doerr was so committed to diversity, why was virtually every junior partner hired male?” he asked. Exelrod showed the courtroom a slide with the headshots of several male partners at Kleiner Perkins. Kleiner has worked throughout the trial to portray itself as committed to promoting diversity, highlighting Doerr in particular as taking a strong interest in advocating for women in the venture capital industry. "There’s a real irony there, because whatever you decide-your verdict-is going to be announced to people and the world on Twitter," he told the jury. Murphy, meanwhile, turned Pao down when she brought the firm an opportunity to invest in Twitter, Exelrod said. Exelrod read back testimony from Schlein in which he had said he was hesitant about including Pao in the group he led at Kleiner: "I didn’t think being a venture capitalist was the right role for Ellen," Schlein said. He urged the jury not to give weight to the issues he called "distractions" of the case-specifically, Kleiner's emphasis on Pao's performance reviews and personality, both at the heart of the firm's argument that Pao herself was the problem, not her gender.Įxelrod accused two men in particular-partners Matt Murphy and Ted Schlein-of holding Pao and other women back from opportunities at Kleiner Perkins. Over the course of his three-and-a-half-hour argument, Exelrod guided the jury through events of the case chronologically, reading back bits of witness testimony the jury had heard throughout the trial to support his narrative, and highlighting what he asked the jury to see as the most striking pieces of evidence. After she brought up the issues in December 2011 and filed a written memorandum in January 2012, she claims, Kleiner retaliated against her by terminating her employment. Pao also alleges Kleiner failed to take reasonable steps to prevent widespread discrimination at the firm. In 2012, Pao was a junior partner at Kleiner Perkins when she filed a lawsuit against the firm, claiming she was held back professionally and discriminated against because of the male-dominated culture at the company.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |