Insight Partners sued by former vice president Kate Lowry

Kate Lowry, a former vice president at Insight Partners, is suing the company, alleging disability discrimination, gender discrimination and wrongful termination, according to a complaint filed Dec. 30 in San Mateo County, Calif., and viewed by TechCrunch.
Insight Partners did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

Lowry told TechCrunch that she filed the lawsuit because she believes “too many powerful, wealthy people in business act like it’s OK to break the law and systematically underpay and abuse their employees.”

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

Lowry started working at Insight Partners in 2022, after working for 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 one mentioned during her interview.

She alleges in the suit that her new supervisor, who was a woman, told her to be “online all the time, including PTO, holidays and weekends,” and to respond between “6 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.”

Lowry says in the lawsuit that this first supervisor “reprimanded, harassed and upset” her, spoke openly about hazing that would be “longer and more intense” than what she subjected other male relationships to.

Some comments the supervisor allegedly made, according to the complaint, include “you are incompetent, shut up and take notes” and “you must obey me like a dog; do everything I say every time I say it, without speaking.” Lowry also alleges that her supervisor assigned her “redundant tasks” and restricted her ability to participate in calls, while allowing less experienced male colleagues to do so. Lowry, by contrast, she claims, was relegated to “administrative tasks such as note-taking and cataloging.”

Lowry said she became “increasingly ill” due to the work environment and was advised by her doctor to take sick leave, which she was granted and taken from February to July 2023.

When she returned to work, she was placed on a new team and, according to the suit, the human resources manager told her that “if the new team didn’t like her, she would be fired.”

In September 2023, Lowry said she suffered a concussion, took another medical leave, and returned to work near the end of 2024. Due to some departures, she was placed under the supervision of a new person, where Lowry said her mistreatment continued. She also alleges that in 2024, her compensation was approximately 30% lower than the market.

In April 2025, she claims she was told her pay would be reduced. In May 2025, through his lawyers, Lowry sent a letter to Insight regarding his alleged treatment by the company. A week later, the company terminated his employment, the complaint states.

This lawsuit is reminiscent of Ellen Pao’s lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins in 2012, in which she alleged discrimination and retaliation. This suit offered what was, at the time, a rare glimpse into how female partners felt treated in venture capital. Although Pao lost that lawsuit, it made waves in the industry, and other women sued large technology companies.