Lowry v. Insight Partners
The lawsuit
This suit alleges a pattern of systemic abuse, threats, discrimination and retaliation at Insight Partners. It details years of fear-based leadership used to intimidate, silence and terminate Kate after she reported her concerns. As the complaint alleges, Kate believes this reflects a pattern of behavior that made it virtually impossible for any non-male, non-straight or disabled employee to succeed.
Helpful links
Here’s the complaint, filed in San Mateo Superior Court on December 30, 2025.
See how TechCrunch reported the news.
Insurance Journal ran the original Bloomberg piece.
ImpactLoop also covered the initial news of the lawsuit.
Click here to message Kate directly.
The case: An overview
This case is about abuse of power: whether institutions will continue to use power to dominate and whether those who abuse their power can be held accountable.
The alleged behavior is not isolated; it’s a pattern.
As the complaint alleges, venture firms, like Insight, operate with virtually no public scrutiny. This case opens a rare window into how systemic misconduct can persist unchecked inside powerful institutions like Insight. This case is about how powerful people in tech treat those they perceive as vulnerable; and how those dynamics shape which founders, products and ideas get funded.
The case addresses the real-world harm of “fear-based leadership.”
Fear-driven environments are destructive, and abusive leadership actively stops innovation, suppresses dissent and harms the people building the future.
The complaint centers on abuse based on protected characteristics.
It alleges that leadership:
Demeaned non-male, disabled and LGBTQ+ employees
Designed policies or practices to compensate disabled employees less because they are "worth less"
Threatened Kate’s compensation
Systematically prevented non-male employees from being promoted, leading to a 90% male investment committee
Cut compensation by millions after Kate raised concerns
Terminated me after Kate retained counsel
The case raises questions about power and accountability
Kate believes that powerful leaders increasingly act like they are above the law. She aims to hold them accountable by pushing their behavior into the public sphere. The lawsuit has implications for:
The broader public concerned with accountability inside powerful systems
Founders seeking fair treatment
Underrepresented leaders, employees, and investors
LP evaluating risk and governance
Workers navigating hostile environments