[pedrogk]

Reading this post makes me think about something I've seen about the (nascent) ecosystem of startups in Mexico (and Latam): There is good participation of women.

And before you take out the numbers and statistics and prove me wrong, I am not talking from a statistical point of view. It is more of a gut feeling (possibly a hope). All I know is that: - In all of the startup weekends that I have gone in Mexico, there is usually an important participation of women, where they usually feel comfortable and stand out. - Some of the most distinctive characters in the community are women, like Celeste North, Rocio Paniagua and Ophelia Pastrana in Mexico. Bedy Yang in Brazil and Vanessa K in Argentina.

And this participation doesn't happen in a segregated manner like in other countries (women-only initiatives, women-only events, etc).

[andrewcooke]

not sure if this is related, but something my (female, astronomer) partner has commented on in the past is that the more traditionally "macho" societies (s. europe and latam) have (proportionally) more female astronomers (and perhaps other scientists) than the "more equal" western countries. she doesn't know why, but i think may have suggested once that it could be because they traditionally give more "space" to women, while in the usa / uk, women have to compete more directly with men (and since men are in the majority, the game is framed in male terms, and men therefore tend to win).

so a rephrasing of the last point is that it is in fact something similar to the "women-only" segregation, in a sense, but more deeply ingrained in the culture...

of course, the interpretation is pure speculation, but i am pretty sure she's right on the numbers.