Ellen Pao will not appeal the $16 million Kleiner Perkins discrimination suit she lost earlier this year, saying Thursday that she is "now moving on."
Pao claimed in her original lawsuit that she wasn't promoted at the venture capital firm because of her gender and said that when
she complained, she faced retaliation, Re/code reported.
Pao lost her case, and Kleiner asked for nearly $1 million to pay for legal and court fees, although a judge ruled the company was entitled to about $276,000, the business publication said. Klein also offered to drop the fee request if Pao decided not to appeal.
She announced her decision to let the case drop in an article on Re/code.
"Seeking justice in the courts has been painful for me personally and professionally, and for my family. I am now moving on, paying Kleiner Perkins’ legal costs and dropping my appeal," she said. "My experience shows how difficult it is to address discrimination through the court system."
Pao went on in the article to discuss the intricacies of dealing with gender discrimination and retaliation complaints both at a company level and in the court system.
"Many businesses today are ill-equipped to prevent or address problems that arise. Human resources is a company-oriented function — when you can find it at all," she wrote on Re/code. "Some businesses are now making changes to prevent discrimination — and importantly measuring and talking about it. But we have a long way to go, as women and minorities continue to make up a small fraction of the management at our most lucrative and productive companies."
The California court system, she added, offered "vague and hard to prove" standards for discrimination and forced complainants to file claims within one year.
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