Ellen Pao has lost her historic discrimination lawsuit against major VC firm Kleiner Perkins

pao wrist touch sad

(Robert Galbraith/Reuters)

Ellen Pao has lost most of her discrimination case against former employer, venture firm Kleiner, Caufield, Perkins & Byers.

The jury said that Pao's gender was NOT a motivating reason for her not being promoted to general or senior partner. It was not a substantial reason for terminating her employment either, according to the jury.

However, the jury at first voted 8-4 against Pao on the claim that the firm retaliated against her for complaining about harassment and filing the lawsuit. At least 9 jurors had to vote against the claim for it to stick. The judge just sent the jury back to deliberate again on that last claim.

The second time around, they came back with enough "no" votes, which means Pao lost on all four claims.

Pao sued the firm for $16 million in 2012 for lost wages and other opportunity, claiming that the firm denied her promotions and other opportunities because she was a woman. The suit went to trial last month.

Over the last two weeks, Pao and her lawyers tried to paint a picture of a "men's club" workplace, pointing to incidents like an alleged conversation about the Playboy Mansion and porn stars on a business trip.

In her own testimony, she said she was suing the firm because "I wanted to make sure my story was told."

Kleiner's lawyers did everything they could to call Pao's testimony into question, and instead portrayed her as difficult to get along with and not particularly qualified for a promotion.

In closing arguments, Kleiner lawyer Lynne Hermle basically accused her of filing the suit only for the money, saying Pao "wanted a huge payout for Team Ellen."

Along the way, a lot of minute details of daily life at a VC firm were discussed, including the revelation that senior partners can make more than $1 million a year just in salary. There were also lots of discussions about a seating chart at an off-site meeting where Pao and another woman were asked to sit in back on one day, a ski trip where Pao wasn't invited, and the ins and outs of her consensual relationship with Ajit Nazre, a male partner who was fired in 2011 after an internal investigation found that he harassed another female partner, Trae Vassallo.

Apparently, the jury found Kleiner's version of events more compelling than Pao's.

NOW WATCH: How 'American Sniper' could affect the trial of Chris Kyle's alleged killer

More From Business Insider

• This is the question the jury in the Pao case was sent back to vote on again
  

• Ellen Pao can sue Kleiner Perkins for up to $160 million in damages
  

• Twitter is the latest Silicon Valley company to be sued over gender discrimination allegations