Reddit's Chief Engineer Quits After Pao's Exit

Reddit's chief engineer has quit just two months after joining from Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) as the Ellen Pao fallout continues.

Bethanye Blount has walked out on the link-sharing website saying she has lost faith in the company's direction.

It comes just days after Ms Pao resigned following a user revolt in which 200,000 people demanded she quit over her handling of a popular employee's dismissal.

Ms Blount said the ousted executive had been placed on a "glass cliff" - a term where female executives are put into leadership positions during crisis periods with a high chance of failure.

Reddit's latest problems started last week when popular executive Victoria Taylor was sacked, and Reddit users criticised Ms Pao for how the dismissal was handled.

She resigned, however it later emerged that Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian was actually behind the original sacking.

Ms Blount's departure means a third high-profile woman has left one of the world's most popular websites in a matter of days.

She said her decision is not directly related to her gender, but pointed out the perceived flaws in Reddit as she made her exit.

She now has plans to launch a startup, following the success of MailRank which was bought by Facebook in 2011.

Reddit's new chief executive Steve Huffman said: "Bethanye’s departure had nothing to do with gender, and I was looking forward to working with her.

"The company is growing, and we have the opportunity to improve in many areas - including the number of women in leadership positions.

"I am confident in our ability to recruit women at the executive level."