Nisha Desai, CEO of Andav Capital, has filed a lawsuit against PayPal for excluding her from its $535 million diversity and equity investment program, claiming racial discrimination. Desai, who is of Indian American descent, alleges that PayPal rejected her funding application due to her ethnicity, despite her belief that she was a suitable candidate for the program, designed to support Black and minority-owned businesses.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court on January 2, accuses PayPal of unfairly prioritizing Black and Hispanic venture capital firms, investing $100 million in 19 firms led by Black and Hispanic people. Desai argues that PayPal discriminated against her and other Asian American businesswomen, calling them the “wrong kind of minority.”
Desai’s lawsuit cites violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and New York state and city human rights laws. She seeks unspecified damages and aims to stop PayPal from considering race and ethnicity in its investment decisions.
This lawsuit comes amid a broader conservative push to challenge Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with Desai’s legal team advocating for curtailing DEI practices in corporate America.
Desai’s extensive career includes leadership roles at Deutsche Bank, Google, and Sweetgreen, and she has been a significant figure in venture capital, focusing on early-stage tech-enabled companies.
