Reddit CEO resigns after petition reaches over 210,000 signatures

Ellen Pao, Chief Executive of social forum website Reddit, has finally announced her resignation after a torrent of media focus and abuse.

Pao became something of a symbol for gender inequality when she lost a lawsuit in 2013 against her former employer Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital firm where she was a junior partner. Pao then assumed the role of CEO for Reddit, where scandal followed once again after employee Victoria Taylor, Director of Talent for the company, was fired.

Many of the website’s users took to the forum to express their disgust and annoyance at how Pao had handled the case, leading to a petition demanding Pao’s removal that attracted over 210,000 signatures.

During her resignation statement, Pao highlighted the darker side to the site, claiming that during her time at the company she had witnessed “the good, the bad and the ugly on Reddit. The good has been off-the-wall inspiring, and the ugly made me doubt humanity.