Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change

The “necessary and incisive” (Roxane Gay) account of the discrimination case that “has blown open a conversation about the status of women” in the workplace (NYT)

In 2015, Ellen K. Pao sued a powerhouse Silicon Valley venture capital firm, calling out workplace discrimination and retaliation against women and other underrepresented groups. Her suit rocked the tech world—and exposed its toxic culture and its homogeneity. Her message overcame negative PR attacks that took aim at her professional conduct and her personal life, and she won widespread public support—Time hailed her as “the face of change.” Though Pao lost her suit, she revolutionized the attitudes at tech offices, in the media, and around the world. In Reset, she tells her full story.

The daughter of immigrants, Pao was taught she could achieve her dreams through hard work. She earned Ivy League degrees, worked at top startups, and in 2005 was recruited by Kleiner Perkins, arguably the world’s top venture capital firm. She did everything right, and yet she and other women and people of color were excluded from success—cut out of decisive conversations and events with their work undercut or appropriated. It was time to reset.

After Kleiner, Pao became CEO of reddit, where she took forceful action to transform the company and product. She banned revenge porn and unauthorized nude photos—other media sites quickly followed—and shut down harassing subreddits. She cofounded Project Include, a winning nonprofit for accelerating inclusion in tech. She shines a light on issues plaguing today’s workplace and lays out practical, inspiring, and achievable goals for a better future.

Ellen K. Pao’s Reset is a rallying cry—the story of a whistleblower who aims to empower everyone struggling to be heard.

Praise for Reset

“Necessary and incisive . . . As Ellen Pao detailed her experiences, while also communicating her passion for the work men often impeded her from doing, I was nothing short of infuriated. It was great to see a highly accomplished woman of color speaking out like this, and hopefully this book will encourage more women to come forward, give voice to their experiences in the workplace, and contribute to meaningful change.”—Roxane Gay

“They promised her a meritocracy and gave her a glass ceiling instead: ‘It just wasn’t fair.’ She’s right.”—NYT Book Review

“Ellen Pao was one of the earliest voices sounding the alarm about bias and discrimination in the tech world. Reset explores the all-too-common challenges she faced and provides an instructive blueprint for equity and fairness.”—Katie Couric

“Ellen Pao [is] a phenomenal woman. . . . For anyone who cherishes the illusion that the tech industry is somehow superior to, say, investment banking, Pao’s book will come as a shock. . . . They say a fish rots from the head down. Same goes for Silicon Valley.”—The Guardian

“Vivid [and] fascinating reading . . . Her willingness to come forward paved the way for [other] whistleblowers. . . . The ‘Pao effect’ . . . is real.”—Fortune

“Ellen Pao courageously confronted Silicon Valley’s venture capital world by calling out bias and discrimination. She emerged from a public trial, media frenzy, and a fierce battle against online harassment with her strength, spirit, and voice intact. In Reset, with deep intelligence and a gift for storytelling, Pao movingly and passionately recounts her path to activism and advocacy. Her book offers a rare glimpse into the gender roles and stereotypes that still pervade one of the world’s most profitable trading centers.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“Ellen Pao reveals in detail her experiences as a woman working in the world of tech and gives voice to the experiences of women working across many professions in America today. Writing transparently was courageous, and Pao is hoping it will help people of all backgrounds rise. This woman has guts.”—Ann Curry