Insight Partners sued by former vice president Kate Lowry

Kate Lowry, a erstwhile vice president astatine Insight Partners, is suing the firm, alleging disablement discrimination, sex discrimination, and wrongful termination, according to a suit filed connected December 30 successful San Mateo County, California, and seen by TechCrunch.  
 
Insight Partners did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s petition for comment. 

Lowry told TechCrunch she filed the suit due to the fact that she believes “too galore powerful, affluent radical successful task enactment similar it’s OK to interruption the instrumentality and systemically underpay and maltreatment their employees.”

“It’s an oppressive strategy that reflect[s] broader trends successful nine that usage fear, intimidation, and powerfulness to soundlessness and isolate truth. I’m trying to alteration that.”

Lowry began working at Insight Partners in 2022, after antecedently moving for Meta, McKinsey & Company, and an early-stage startup. The suit alleges that, upon being hired, she was assigned to a different supervisor than the person mentioned during her interview.  

She alleges successful the suit that she was told by her caller supervisor, who was a woman, to beryllium “online each the time, including PTO, holidays, and weekends,” and to respond betwixt “6 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.”  

Lowry says in the suit that this first supervisor “berated, hazed, and antagonized” her, spoke openly about a hazing that would beryllium “longer and much intense” than what she enactment different antheral reports through.  

Some comments the supervisor allegedly made, according to the suit, see “you are incompetent, unopen up and instrumentality notes” and “you request to obey maine similar a dog; bash immoderate I accidental whenever I accidental it, without speaking.”  Lowry besides alleges that her supervisor assigned her “redundant tasks” and restricted her quality to participate in calls, portion allowing little experienced antheral colleagues to bash so. Lowry, instead, she alleges, was relegated to “administrative tasks specified arsenic note-taking and cataloging.”  

Lowry said she became “increasingly ill” due to the fact that of the enactment environment and that her physician advised a aesculapian permission of absence, which she was granted and took from February to July 2023.  

When she returned to work, she was placed connected a caller squad and, the suit alleges, was told by the caput of quality resources that “if the caller squad did not similar her, she would beryllium fired.”  

In September 2023, Lowry said she got a concussion and took different aesculapian leave and returned to work near the extremity of 2024. Due to immoderate departures, she was placed under the supervision of a new person, wherever Lowry said her mediocre attraction continued. She besides alleges that successful 2024, her compensation was about 30% below the market. 

By April 2025, she alleges she was told her compensation would beryllium cut. In May of 2025, done her attorneys, Lowry sent a missive to Insight regarding her alleged attraction by the company. A week later, the firm terminated her employment, the suit states.  

The suit is reminiscent of Ellen Pao’s suit against Kleiner Perkins backmost successful 2012, successful which she alleged favoritism and retaliation. That suit offered what was, astatine the time, a uncommon glimpse into however women partners felt they were treated successful task capital. Though Pao mislaid that suit, it sent waves done the industry, and other women went connected to sue major tech companies.