March 28--Immediately after a jury ruled against Ellen Pao in her sex discrimination case against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers on Friday, social media erupted with reactions to the verdict.
Pao also took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the verdict and what the case meant to her. In a list of 10 tweets -- No. 8 was missing -- Pao thanked her supporters and said she hopes her situation inspires others to end gender discrimination.
1. Thank you, world.
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
2. I have been inspired by the thousands of people who have reached out to me over the past three years with support.
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
3. I've heard from people in Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Australia, Malaysia, France, Argentina, Norway, Tanzania, Finland, and beyond.
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
4. Because of social media and live reports, the problem of gender discrimination in venture capital has received attention around the globe
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
5. While today's outcome is a disappointment, I take consolation in knowing that people really listened
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
6. If we do not share our stories and shine a light on inequities, things will not change
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
7. Hopefully my case will inspire the venture capital industry to level the playing field for everyone, including women and minorities
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
There was no No. 8 tweet.
9. To support the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, we need to show leadership today.
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
10. And thank you to the team and board @reddit for standing by me.
-- Ellen Pao (@ekp) March 28, 2015
Reaction on Twitter was mixed, but many commentators said that Pao -- even though she lost -- drew much-needed attention to a real problem in Silicon Valley.
Reporters covering the case spoke with some of the jurors at the conclusion of the trial, and posted their reactions, too.
Juror 2: "I looked at how the men performed and I wasn't seeing differences huge enough to see it justify leaving #ellenpao behind."
-- Tracey Lien (@traceylien) March 28, 2015
Juror 2: "We did the best we could with 12 total strangers... we went into the jury room with totally different perspectives..."#ellenpao
-- Tracey Lien (@traceylien) March 28, 2015
Juror 2: "We looked at it over and over again and nitpicked to come up with what we thought was the fairest verdict." #ellenpao
-- Tracey Lien (@traceylien) March 28, 2015
Juror 2 voted "yes" on all claims against #KleinerPerkins. "I was very disappointed in the verdict we came up with." #ellenpao
-- Tracey Lien (@traceylien) March 28, 2015
Juror 2 says the verdict should not deter women from fighting discrimination. "If you feel it's being done to you, stand up for yourself."
-- Tracey Lien (@traceylien) March 28, 2015
"I'm going home emotional," says one of two dissenting jurors in #kleinerperkins #ellenpao discrimination case.
-- Malaika Fraley (@malaikafraley) March 28, 2015
#EllenPao juror who voted yes said vote was never necessarily close but they were all "affected by it."
-- Patrick Kulp (@PatrickKulp) March 28, 2015
Outcome doesn't change the fact: We,men in SV been trying 2 get our act together but we r not even close #ellenpao pic.twitter.com/xIp8Nr9VBB
-- Sam Shawki (@sshawki) March 28, 2015
#ThankYouEllenPao -- Thank you Ellen Pao for LEANING IN! You are a very brave woman and of course there was discrimination.
-- Celia Farnon (@CeliaFarnon) March 28, 2015
The Ellen Pao result is one specific case, the verdict does not mean sexism isn't a problem in tech. It very much is!
-- Matthew Spence (@msaspence) March 28, 2015
Ellen Pao may have lost but the real loser is #kleinerperkins
-- Barbara Klein (@BarbaraKlein08) March 28, 2015
The Jury has spoken: Kleiner Did Not Discriminate Against Ellen Pao. Seems pretty straight forward.
-- zak zorn (@ZakZorn) March 28, 2015
jury decision in the Ellen pao case isn't really surprising, from what's been published she lacked a lot of evidence
-- RichSpad (@RichSpad) March 28, 2015
Verdict aside, we have a deep gender discrimination problem in tech. Thx to @ekp for reminding us. Let's not let the conversation end here.
-- Chris Sacca (@sacca) March 27, 2015
Amanda Knox is free and Ellen Pao can never show her face in Silicon Valley again. It's like watching #empire. Who do I feel sorry for?
-- Andre (@Hedgology) March 28, 2015
