The woman who lost her high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit against a Silicon Valley venture capital firm says she is dropping her appeal.

Ellen Pao said in a statement released Thursday that she cannot afford the risk of incurring additional costs to fight Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

She said she had not reached any settlement with the firm and will pay some of its legal fees.

A judge has ordered Pao to pay Kleiner $275,000 in legal fees.

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Appeal: Ellen Pao (above) lost her high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit against a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. She announced today that she is dropping her appeal

Pao (center) said that she cannot afford the risk of incurring additional costs to fight Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

A jury in March found that Kleiner Perkins did not discriminate or retaliate against Pao when the firm fired her in 2012.

She alleged in the lawsuit that the firm promoted male partners over equally qualified women.

Pao's case became a flashpoint in an ongoing discussion about gender inequity at elite technology and venture capital firms, where women are grossly underrepresented.

The woman who was a partner at Kleiner Perkins until July, said that the process of going through the trial was painful for her personally and professionally.

'Our society is struggling with workplace discrimination and harassment,' Pao said in the statement.

'These often happen in subtle but highly hurtful ways. Many businesses today are ill-equipped to prevent or address problems that arise.'

The former interim CEO of Reddit added that she felt as though she was at a disadvantage in the trial because she lacked the resources and money that Kleiner Perkins had in hiring a larger legal team and a bigger PR team to handle press.

She asserted that the firm had three times as many lawyers and noted that every potential juror who 'expressed a belief that sexism exists in tech' was not allowed to serve on the jury.

A jury in March found that Kleiner Perkins did not discriminate or retaliate against Pao (left) when the firm fired her in 2012

'Even the courts do not provide a level playing field, and it is hard to afford justice,' Pao said.

In a statement, Kleiner Perkins said that the firm is 'glad to put this trial behind' them and that diversity in the workplace is 'an important issue.'

Pao is serving as an adviser to Reddit's board until the end of the year. She said in the statement that she plans to continue to write, invest and work int he tech industry.

'Going forward, I am optimistic that our efforts will drive change to improve the work situation for women and minorities,' Pao said.