A growing chorus of voices denouncing sexist culture is echoing through male-dominated Silicon Valley, knocking a number of internet industry executives from their perches.

Before Kalanick's departure, Uber said it had fired 20 people after examining 215 claims of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional behavior and bullying.

June also saw venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck take an indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital in Silicon Valley in the face of allegations he made sexual advances toward female entrepreneurs interested in funding.

The public apologies came in the wake of a New York Times article in which a dozen women in the technology world denounced what they saw as a culture of harassment, some pointing specifically at McClure or Caldbeck.

Women in Silicon Valley face a double-whammy, French entrepreneur Eliane Fiolet said, because the tech companies as well as the world of finance here are male dominated.

Google told AFP that in the past three years at Google, the proportion of women in tech roles at the company has grown from 17 percent to 20 percent, and that of women in leadership roles has risen from 21 percent to 25 percent.

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