Former VC Vice President Sues Insight for Being ‘Impossible for Women’

A former vice president at Insight Partners has sued the venture capital firm for wrongful termination and gender discrimination, accusing the prominent investor of keeping women from its highest levels.

Katherine Lowry, a consultant and tech company strategist who joined Insight in 2022, filed a lawsuit accusing the firm of several violations of employment law, including disability discrimination and retaliating against her after she took medical leave, according to a state-court complaint filed in San Mateo, California.

In a statement, Insight said it strongly denied the “baseless allegations” in the suit. “The complaint paints a false picture of our workplace and employment practices and does not reflect the culture, values, or conduct of our organization,” the statement said. “We will vigorously defend Insight and our employees named in these unfounded claims through the legal process.”

Over the last few decades, venture capital has grown from a niche, insular corner of finance into an institutional engine for growth as technology companies have become a cornerstone of public markets. Despite increased calls for gender and racial diversity, the VC industry remains largely white and male, especially at the management level, according to industry research.

A 2024 study from PitchBook found that women made up 17.3% of decision-makers at VC firms with more than $50 million in assets under management. At Insight, there are 60 men and 11 women at the managing director or operating partner level.

Insight, which invests in startups and private equity deals, is one of the largest firms active in the sector with more than $90 billion in assets. The firm has had some recent hits: It was a major investor in cybersecurity startups Wiz and Armis, which each had multi-billion dollar acquisitions in 2025.

In October, Lowry published a book called Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders. In an interview on Monday, she said, “VC is a very small space. People generally don’t file lawsuits. Everyone that has tried has been blackballed and can basically never work in the industry again.” She added, “I want people to understand that just because someone is wealthy, they don’t get to operate outside the rules.”

Lowry’s complaint says she was paid about 30% below market rate in 2024, without citing that figure. After taking medical leave, Lowry alleged that Insight cut her compensation, reducing the expected carried interest she would receive from deals from $750,000 to $500,000.

In the lawsuit, Lowry alleged that she was “berated, hazed and antagonized” by her manager at Insight, a female executive, who told Lowry that “your work needs to be twice as good as male colleagues because you are a woman.”

Another colleague told Lowry it was “impossible for women” to be promoted at Insight, according to the complaint.

On Monday, Lowry posted on LinkedIn that she filed the lawsuit after a failed attempt to settle the disagreement privately. “Insight chose not to come to the table, and instructed me to take things public if I wanted any meaningful outcomes,”she wrote. “And so I am.”

In 2012, startup investor Ellen Pao sued the VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for gender discrimination in a case that gripped Silicon Valley. Pao lost when the case went to trial in 2015.

The case is Katherine Lowry v. Insight Venture Management, 25-CIV-10151, Superior Court, San Mateo County, California.