Chinese, Americans Watch Ellen Pao’s Discrimination Case for Different Reasons

For the Chinese, it's all about the money

In this Feb. 24, 2015, file photo, Ellen Pao, right, leaves the Civic Center Courthouse along with her attorney, Therese Lawless, left, during a lunch break in her trial in San Francisco. Plaintiff Pao testified Monday, March 9, 2015, that female employees were treated disrespectfully at the firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and some were not even invited, when the company held a series of events. Pao also told the jury at the civil trial that she complained to management about the atmosphere at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers after learning a female colleague had complained about alleged sexual harassment. The investigator hired by the firm to investigate Pao's complaint concluded there was no gender discrimination at the firm. AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File

People in China and America alike are watching Ellen Pao’s gender discrimination case against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins in California. But they’re watching for different reasons.

In America, many on the Internet forums of Reddit, where Pao serves as interim CEO, and on other technology websites, are speculating on a range of topics, from how much money Pao might win to whether she would make a pleasant co-worker.

In China, a lot of the conversation is centered around the wealth and status of Kleiner Perkins.

Pao filed a lawsuit in 2012 stating that after she had ended a relationship and rejected another man’s advances, the workplace retaliated against her and denied her promotions and salary bonuses. The suit also said that women in Kleiner Perkins do not advance as often as men do.

The case strikes a lot of the right notes for mainland Chinese who value prestigious Ivy League degrees and elite Silicon Valley jobs.

Their interest in Pao’s case stems from considering themselves in place of her former employers who earn at least six figures.

“So, there are some risks to getting a job at Kleiner Perkins,” wrote one Chinese netizen on media site Tencent.

Another wrote on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, with a tone of admiration: “How much does a hedge fund manager make in a year? Perhaps tens of millions. You could live in Manhattan.”