Katie Benner comments on the Kleiner trial and women in high tech.  The common thread that runs through the stories of both Vassallo and Ferraioli is that they were encouraged — implicitly or explicitly — to stay quiet about the way they’d been treated. Complaints were thought to be bad for “the team.”

If being on the team means giving up basic respect and safety, no wonder so few women want to make the bargain.

Silicon Valley isn’t purely bad. Ferraioli, who’s now at Google, says she’s found an engineering job she loves, with people who respect her. Vassallo, who was described by her Kleiner colleagues as a world-class investor, still serves on boards and acts as an independent adviser.

Unfortunately, most tech companies are way more comfortable attacking the pipeline problem, donating money to educational programs that draw women into the kind of math and science classes that feed into technology jobs. Apple just donated $50 million to this effort. Kleiner partner John Doerr often says something must be done to bring more women into his profession.

But if these companies want women in their ranks, they need to do more for the women they’ve already hired. They need to create a workplace where women want to be.  Kleiner Trial and Women in High Tech