--- description: Facebook and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins are facing similar claims. title: Twitter Faces Gender Discrimination Lawsuit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Twitter Faces Gender Discrimination Lawsuit by Former Female Engineer  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2015 9:46 PM CUT  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2015 9:46 PM CUT A former Twitter employee has [sued](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/lawsuit-twitter-discrimination-idUSL2N0WM1PL20150320 "undefined") the company for gender discrimination while two other high-profile sexism lawsuits unfold in Silicon Valley. Software engineer Tina Huang claimed in a proposed class action lawsuit filed Thursday that Twitter’s promotion process unfairly favors men, _Reuters_ reports. Huang said the company has no formal procedures for granting promotions, and instead relies on a “shoulder tap” process that explains why few women are in high-level engineering positions. A Twitter spokesperson [said](http://mashable.com/2015/03/20/twitter-sex-discrimination-lawsuit/ "undefined") Friday, “Twitter is deeply committed to a diverse and supportive workplace, and we believe the facts will show Ms. Huang was treated fairly.” ### See What Your Twitter Profile Looked Like Over the Last 10 Years  2006 Wayback Machine  2007 Wayback Machine  2008 Wayback Machine  2009 Wayback Machine  2010 Wayback Machine  2011 Wayback Machine  2012 Wayback Machine  2013 The Next Web  2014 TIME The lawsuit against Twitter follows similar claims made against Facebook last week by Chia Hong, who accused Facebook of wrongful termination in 2013 after allegedly being harassed based on [her gender, race and Taiwanese nationality.](http://fortune.com/2015/03/18/facebook-sex-discrimination/ "undefined") Facebook has denied Hong’s accusations. Hong’s lawyers are also involved in a similar case against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, which former employee and current interim Reddit CEO Ellen Pao [sued for gender discrimination.](http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/21/8267273/judge-in-kleiner-perkins-trial-just-ruled-that "undefined") A judge upheld Pao’s claims on Saturday, saying “There is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude that Kleiner Perkins engaged in intentional gender discrimination.” \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/20/lawsuit-twitter-discrimination-idUSL2N0WM1PL20150320 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3753458/twitter-gender-lawsuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3753458/twitter-gender-lawsuit/"},"headline":"Twitter Faces Gender Discrimination Lawsuit by Former Female Engineer","datePublished":"2015-03-22T21:46:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:45:00.605Z","description":"Facebook and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins are facing similar claims","url":"https://time.com/3753458/twitter-gender-lawsuit/","keywords":["Tech","legal"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3753458/twitter-gender-lawsuit/","name":"Twitter Faces Gender Discrimination Lawsuit by Former Female Engineer"}}]}] ```