|
|
|
|
|
|
by points
5707 days ago
|
|
|
When exactly did he say "women should not run a startup."? > "I write in a gender independent style (unlike your comment!)." That seems fairly silly considering 95%+ of founders are men. Women founders are an edge case. Whether that's how things should be or not is a question for another day IMHO (Ask women why they don't want to be founders), but acknowledging the fact that 95% of founders are men, isn't being sexist. I think his point is completely valid - if you have a supportive spouse, you can be 50% involved in baby, or you can be 1% involved in baby. If it's 1% then it won't really impact your success in a startup (Although you'll most likely live to regret it). |
|
|
At the end of his message he writes: "For the case of a female entrepreneur I'd say no, you probably shouldn't have a baby and a startup at the same time.)"
>> Women founders are an edge case.
While it might be true that female founders are a small percentage, that doesn't mean they don't deserve the respect of being included in the discussion on equal footing.
They are equally capable of being founders, as such it's best to use gender-neutral language out of respect.
Another way to think of this, is that women wanting to vote was an edge case.
Another way to think of this is that black founders are an "edge case" according to your description. That doesn't mean you should exclude them from the discussion.
The words we choose are very important, and being inclusive costs you nothing but a little bit of empathy and diligence when thinking about the "edge cases."
And yes, his point about having a supportive spouse making it easier is correct. However, in many cases that spouse needs to make money to support the startup spouse--which precludes them being the primary caregiver. Which goes to my point of "start in your 20s, family in your 30s" advice.