Insight Partners is sued by former Vice President Kate Lowry

Kate Lowry, a former vice president at Insight Partners, has sued the company, alleging disability discrimination, sex discrimination, and wrongful termination, according to the lawsuit filed Dec. 30 in San Mateo County, California, and seen by TechCrunch.
Insight Partners did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

Lori told TechCrunch that she filed the lawsuit because she believes “too many powerful, wealthy people in enterprise act as if it is OK to break the law, systematically underpay and mistreat their employees.”

“It is an oppressive system that reflects[s] Broader trends in society use fear, intimidation, and force to silence and isolate the truth. I’m trying to change that.”

Laurie began working at Insight Partners in 2022, having previously worked at Meta, McKinsey & Company, and an early-stage startup. The suit alleges that, when she was hired, she was assigned to a different supervisor than the person mentioned during the interview.

She alleges in the lawsuit that her new supervisor, a woman, required her to be “online at all times, including PTO, holidays, and weekends,” and to respond between “6 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.”

Lori says in the lawsuit that this first supervisor “berated, harassed, and antagonized her,” and spoke publicly about the hazing that would be “longer and more severe” than she gave other male reports.

Some of the comments the supervisor allegedly made, according to the lawsuit, include “You’re incompetent, shut up and take notes” and “You have to obey me like a dog; do everything I say when I say it, without speaking.” Lori also alleges that her supervisor assigned her “redundant tasks” and restricted her ability to participate in calls, while allowing her less experienced male colleagues to do so. Instead, she claimed, Lowry was relegated to “administrative tasks such as note-taking and indexing.”

Lori said she became “increasingly ill” due to the work environment and that her doctor advised her to take medical leave, which she was granted and took from February to July 2023.

When she returned to work, she was assigned to a new team, and the suit alleges that the head of human resources told her that “if she didn’t like the new team, she would be fired.”

In September 2023, Lori said she suffered a concussion and took another medical leave and returned to work near the end of 2024. Because of some departures, she was placed under the supervision of someone new, where Lori said her mistreatment continued. It also claims that in 2024, its compensation was about 30% below the market.

By April 2025, she claims she was told her compensation would be reduced. In May 2025, Lori, through her attorney, sent a letter to Insight regarding her alleged treatment by the company. A week later, the company terminated its employment, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit is reminiscent of the lawsuit Ellen Pao filed against Kleiner Perkins in 2012, in which she alleged discrimination and retaliation. That lawsuit provided what was, at the time, a rare glimpse into how female partners felt about being treated in venture capital. Although Pao lost that lawsuit, it sent ripples through the industry, and other women went on to sue major tech companies.