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by adn 3783 days ago
This would make sense if they same VC also asked a male founder if his wife was pregnant, and if he was going to abandon the startup for his family. Except we all know they wouldn't dare ask that question, because it would be extremely rude and potentially illegal (?). But for some reason it's ok with the female founders, again because of the idea that "mothers should be mothers" that this VC expressed in the text message.
3 comments
phil21 3783 days ago
Why do you think this doesn't come up? As a single father of course it came up in every funding/hiring discussion I ever had.

And it was perfectly reasonable for them to ask, due to the roles I was being offered. If I got offended by that, I didn't understand the sheer amount of work and effort those positions were going to entail.

If I'm hiring a 9-5 support tech, it's irrelevant. If I'm hiring a "kills the company if it's the wrong hire" position, you bet your ass I'm looking at it from every angle. And someone being able to commit 100% to that is very key - doesn't matter if it's kids, sports, hobbies, whatever. If you decide you want work/life balance, a startup founder is not for you. At least one that is funded by VCs.

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icebraining 3783 days ago
As a single father of course it came up in every funding/hiring discussion I ever had.

Did it come up before you were a father?

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robotresearcher 3783 days ago
It's not OK to discriminate against anyone. But here is at least one reason it is still done, even after almost everyone agrees that women can be great executives:

Hours per week spent on unpaid child care among dual-earner couples; respondent working full-time. Women: 49.8, Men: 27.2

Official Canadian Government data from 2013.

http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/rc-cr/stat/wic-fac-2012/sec4-eng.ht...

Women and men still behave very differently as populations. This is not cause for discrimination against individuals, but it does explain (but not morally justify) the existence of different priors on members of the two populations.

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Lanari 3783 days ago
If he is a single father he will get asked questions about his kids I suppose.
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