Ellen Pao
Ellen Pao | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ellen Kangru Pao Template:Birth year and age New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for | Former CEO of Reddit; cofounder and CEO of Project Include; gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins |
Ellen Kangru Pao (Chinese: 鮑康如; born 1970) is an American attorney and entrepreneur, recognized for her tenure as CEO of the social networking platform Reddit between 2014 and 2015. Since 2016, she has been the cofounder and CEO of Project Include, a nonprofit organization dedicated to diversity consulting.
Pao rose to national attention in 2012 when she initiated a gender discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. She has since emerged as a vocal critic of hiring and promotion practices prevalent within Silicon Valley.
Appointed as Reddit’s interim CEO in 2014, Pao implemented major policy reforms, including the prohibition of revenge porn—a move that prompted other social media companies to adopt similar measures. In 2015, her controversial decision to ban certain Reddit communities accused of harassment generated significant public outcry, ultimately resulting in her resignation. This episode sparked wider conversations about women's treatment in tech industries and the need for greater transparency in platforms reliant on volunteer moderators.
Early life and education
Born in New Jersey in 1970 to Taiwanese American parents Tsyh-Wen Lee and Young-Ping Pao, Ellen Pao was raised in Maplewood. Her father was a professor at New York University’s Courant Institute, while her mother worked as a computer science engineer at the University of Pennsylvania. Pao began learning programming at age ten under her mother’s guidance. She graduated from Columbia High School in 1987, the same year her father passed away.
Her maternal grandparents were Taiwanese waishengren originating from Baoding in Hebei province. Her grandfather graduated from the Republic of China Military Academy and served as a commander under Chiang Kai-shek before relocating to Taiwan in 1948, retiring with the rank of colonel.
Pao earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1991, where she authored a senior thesis on business data privacy and held the position of managing editor for The Daily Princetonian. She later obtained a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1994 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1998.
Career
Between 1994 and 1996, Pao practiced corporate law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. In 1998, she joined WebTV, followed by positions at various Silicon Valley firms including BEA Systems, where she served as Senior Director of Corporate Business Development from 2001 to 2005.
In 2005, Pao became technical chief of staff to senior partner John Doerr at Kleiner Perkins, a leading venture capital firm based in San Francisco. This role drew upon her combined expertise in engineering, law, and business. By 2007, she advanced to junior investing partner under Ted Schlein’s mentorship and was named a Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute. At Kleiner Perkins, she spearheaded efforts to expand the firm’s presence in China. Despite support from Doerr, she was overlooked for promotion to senior partner—a circumstance she later cited in her gender discrimination lawsuit alleging preferential treatment for male colleagues with comparable qualifications.
On May 10, 2012, Pao filed suit against Kleiner Perkins alleging gender discrimination and retaliation connected to a romantic relationship with a male junior partner. She remained employed until October 1 when she was dismissed—Pao contended this termination was sudden and retaliatory; however, the firm attributed it to performance issues unrelated to the lawsuit. A jury ultimately ruled entirely in favor of Kleiner Perkins in March 2015.
In 2013, Pao was hired by Reddit as head of business development and strategic partnerships. Early investments helped fortify Reddit’s collaboration with image hosting service Imgur. She focused on streamlining user onboarding processes and was appointed interim CEO following Yishan Wong’s resignation in November 2014. To address gender pay disparities during hiring negotiations, Pao introduced a compensation policy offering candidates a choice between higher salary or increased equity. Under her leadership, Reddit banned revenge porn content in March 2015—a move that influenced similar actions across other social networks.
Mid-2015 saw intense backlash after Reddit removed five subreddits associated with harassment and dismissed its director of talent. A petition demanding Pao’s resignation amassed over 200,000 signatures. On July 10, 2015, she stepped down "by mutual agreement."
After leaving Reddit, Pao co-established Project Include alongside industry figures such as Erica Baker and Tracy Chou. The nonprofit provides diversity consulting services to startups and releases anonymized progress reports under Creative Commons licensing. Contrary to rumors following her legal battle with Kleiner Perkins, Pao confirmed she authored a memoir titled Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change, published by Spiegel & Grau and shortlisted for the 2017 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
In 2017, Pao joined Kapor Capital as a partner and took on the role of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Kapor Center for Social Impact before departing in 2018 to concentrate fully on leading Project Include as CEO.
Gender discrimination lawsuit
On May 10, 2012, Pao initiated a gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins, which proceeded to trial in February 2015. This case garnered widespread national media attention and sparked public discourse regarding gender issues in the workplace. The trial lasted 24 days and was extensively live-blogged and debated on social media platforms, shaping both public opinion and the legal process. Ultimately, the jury decided in favor of Kleiner Perkins.
During the same period, comparable gender discrimination claims were brought against Twitter and Facebook, drawing attention to a wider industry-wide examination often termed the Pao effect. Employment attorneys observed a rise in workplace inequality lawsuits, resulting in increased scrutiny of corporate practices. While some regarded this development as a positive step toward equality, others expressed concern that the surge in litigation might discourage companies from hiring women.
Following the trial, Kleiner Perkins requested $972,814 in legal fees but offered to waive this amount if Pao refrained from appealing. On June 1, 2015, Pao filed an appeal. Subsequently, Kleiner Perkins alleged that Pao demanded $2.7 million to withdraw her appeal, a figure they considered unreasonable. Eventually, a judge limited Pao’s financial responsibility to $275,966 based on both parties’ financial capacities under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Pao objected to this ruling, cautioning that such expenses could dissuade future discrimination claims.
On September 10, 2015, Pao authored a guest article urging organizations to handle bias accusations openly and acknowledged subtle workplace behaviors influencing women's experiences. She declared she would not pursue her appeal further but initially faced a non-disparagement clause as part of the fee waiver agreement. One week later, after officially dropping her appeal, Kleiner Perkins moved to close the case without requiring her to pay legal fees.
Exit from Reddit
On June 10, 2015, Reddit announced it would ban five subreddits due to their role in promoting harassment outside the platform, including r/FatPeopleHate, which had amassed over 150,000 members. This action provoked significant backlash with numerous petitions demanding CEO Ellen Pao’s resignation; the largest petition gathered 10,000 signatures. Users responded with hostile remarks directed at Pao and criticized Reddit’s moderation tools and its removal of posts critical of her lawsuit.
Tensions intensified on July 2 when key Reddit communities went private in protest over the dismissal of Victoria Taylor, the talent director responsible for coordinating popular Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions. AMA moderators condemned poor communication from management and learned about Taylor’s termination indirectly. Although initial blame was placed on Pao, former CEO Yishan Wong later clarified that co-founder Alexis Ohanian had made the decision. This controversy led to increased harassment targeting Pao and a petition calling for her removal that exceeded 200,000 signatures.
Pao issued apologies via Reddit and Time magazine but continued to face criticism. She resigned on July 10 and was succeeded by Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman.
In the aftermath, Wong publicly defended Pao and cautioned about stricter content regulations under the founders’ leadership. Huffman introduced measures aimed at reducing visibility of certain xenophobic communities while banning others altogether. On July 13, chief engineer Bethanye Blount resigned, citing inadequate board support for Pao and referencing the glass cliff phenomenon affecting women leaders.
On July 16, Pao spoke about the difficulties in balancing harassment prevention with maintaining "edgy content," describing experiencing a severe trolling attack alongside receiving expressions of support.
Dispute Involving Reddit CEO Steve Huffman
In June 2020, Ellen Pao openly condemned the management of Reddit, targeting CEO Steve Huffman for allegedly permitting racist content on the site and profiting from "white supremacy." Although Huffman released a public letter during the George Floyd protests reaffirming Reddit’s commitment to opposing hate and racism, Pao deemed his statements insincere. Supporting her position, prominent subreddits such as r/NBA and r/NFL paused their activity for a full day, urging Reddit’s executives to implement more decisive measures against racial discrimination.
Perspectives
In 2021, amid the fraud proceedings against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, Pao contributed an article to the New York Times, asserting that while Holmes should face justice, the absence of comparable repercussions for male executives reveals entrenched sexism. She highlighted instances including Mark Zuckerberg's role at Facebook in enabling the Rohingya genocide and disseminating "anti-vaccination misinformation," deceptive advertising by Juul under Kevin Burns, and various controversies during Travis Kalanick’s leadership at Uber.
Personal Background
Pao's first marriage was to Roger Kuo, which ended in divorce. She later wed Buddy Fletcher in December 2007 after connecting through Aspen Institute gatherings; together they have a daughter born in July 2008. Pao follows a vegetarian lifestyle.