Technology

Lawyer Defends Gender Bias Probe at Silicon Valley Firm

Published

9 years ago

March 12, 2015

Ellen Pao, center, with her attorney, Therese Lawless, left, leaves the Civic Center Courthouse during a lunch break in her trial Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

SUDHIN THANAWALA, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An attorney hired by one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious venture capital firms to investigate a complaint of gender discrimination defended his efforts on Friday, saying the alleged bias was not substantiated.

Stephen Hirschfeld testified for a second day in the case filed by Ellen Pao against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

He had been hired by the firm to investigate a gender discrimination complaint by Pao and a sexual harassment claim by Trae Vassallo, another female employee at the firm.

Therese Lawless, an attorney for Pao, questioned why during his probe of Pao’s complaint Hirschfeld did not review Vassallo’s analysis of the performance of men and women at the firm and interview a male colleague whom Pao said had retaliated against her when she broke off their affair.

Hirschfeld replied that he had gathered the information he needed, and the colleague lacked credibility.

“I will never do more than I deem necessary and appropriate to arrive at a conclusion,” he said.

Kleiner Perkins has denied wrongdoing and says Pao, 45, didn’t get along with her colleagues and performed poorly as a junior partner, a position she moved into in 2010.

Other women at the firm told Hirschfeld that Pao had a negative personality and was curt, and they hadn’t encountered sexism or sexually charged comments, he said.

Pao’s attorneys have described the firm as an old-boys club where women were excluded from a party at former Vice President Al Gore’s house, asked to take notes at a meeting like secretaries, and subjected to harassment and boorish behavior by their male colleagues such as a conversation about porn stars and a trip to the Playboy Mansion aboard a private jet.

The case has put a spotlight on the gender inequities in the venture capital and technology sectors, where women are grossly underrepresented.

Hirschfeld previously testified that he had a conversation with John Doerr, a senior partner at the firm, while investigating Vassallo’s complaint.

Vassallo alleged a male colleague had come to her hotel room in a bathrobe during a business trip and that she had to push him out.

Doerr told Hirschfeld that Pao had a “female chip” on her shoulder and tended to blame others for her failed romantic relationships, Hirschfeld testified.

Doerr also said another partner’s decision to ask Pao and Vassallo to take notes at a meeting was wrong and looked bad, though he didn’t think the partner was discriminating against women.

Pao may take the stand on Monday.

Doerr has testified that he didn’t recall telling Hirschfeld that Pao had a female chip on her shoulder.

He has also said he was a strong supporter of Pao and has disputed her contention that she was passed over for a promotion because she was a woman and then fired in 2012 after she complained.

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Attorney General Rob Bonta, Oakland Lawmakers, Introduce Legislation to Protect Youth Online

At a press conference in downtown Oakland on Jan. 29, Attorney General Rob Bonta joined Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) to announce two pieces of legislation designed to protect children online. The bills are Senate Bill (SB) 976, the Protecting Youth from Social Media Addiction Act and Assembly Bill (AB) 1949, the California Children’s Data Privacy Act.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

From left to right: Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) at a press conference introducing legislation to protect young people online.

By Magaly Muñoz

The bills are Senate Bill (SB) 976, the Protecting Youth from Social Media Addiction Act and Assembly Bill (AB) 1949, the California Children’s Data Privacy Act.

Skinner authored SB 976, which addresses online addiction affecting teenage users, while Wicks’s bill, AB 1949, takes on big tech by proposing data privacy and children rights protections.

“Social media companies unfortunately show us time and time again that they are all too willing to ignore the detriment to our children, the pain to our children, the mental health and physical challenges they face, in order to pursue profits,” Bonta said.

SB 976 would allow parents to control the nature and frequency of the content their under-18-year-old children see on social media. Notifications from social media platforms would also be paused from midnight to 6 am and controls would allow parents to set time limits on their children’s usage based on their discretion.

Skinner stated that the longer that kids are on their phones during the day, the higher the risk for depression, anxiety and other related issues.

The bill would also push to get rid of addictive media that is harmful for young women and girls, specifically image filters that mimic cosmetic plastic surgery.

Bonta and 33 other attorney generals had previously filed a lawsuit against Meta, owner of the popular social media applications Instagram and Facebook. The filing claims that the company purposefully uses algorithmized content that harms younger audiences.

“Social media companies have the ability to protect our kids, they could act, but they do not,” Skinner said.

The Child Data Privacy Act would strengthen existing protections for data privacy under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The lawmakers argue that the law does not have effective protection for those under 18 years old.

Wicks stated that the bill would forbid businesses from collecting, using, sharing, or selling personal data of anyone underage unless they receive informed consent, or it becomes necessary for the purpose of the business.

Wicks added that the acts would make it so that a search on the internet like “How do I lose weight?” would not result in dieting pill advertisements targeting youth, which, some experts report, could be harmful to their mental and physical health.

“In a digital age where the vulnerabilities of young users are continually exploited, we cannot afford to let our laws lag behind, our children deserve complete assurance that their online experience will be safeguarded from invasive practices,” Wicks said.

Supporters of the two acts say they have gained bipartisan support issue, but the authors and Bonta expect them to be met with pushback from the affected companies.

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Unleashing the Power_ Discover the The Thrills…F-TYPE Convertible

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4 months ago

December 18, 2023

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Performance & Handling
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Elevate Your Ride…

Join us for a virtual car’s best-detailed walkaround of the sleek and stylish 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE AWD convertible. Get an up-close look at the exterior design, interior features, and performance capabilities of this luxury sports car. From its powerful engine to its advanced technology, this video will give you a comprehensive overview of what makes […]
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Join us for a virtual car’s best-detailed walkaround of the sleek and stylish 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE AWD convertible. Get an up-close look at the exterior design, interior features, and performance capabilities of this luxury sports car. From its powerful engine to its advanced technology, this video will give you a comprehensive overview of what makes the F-TYPE AWD convertible stand out on the road. Unique to AutoNetwork.com.