[smadge]

He said woman cannot be in technology because they aren't interested in computers from a young age. But rather than seeking why women are excluded from technology even as children, he just blames women for not being interested in hacking. Either he believes women are intrinsically non-hackers, or he acknowledges it is a cultural/social issue but refuses to hire or fund anyone who does not have the exact life trajectory of Mark Zuckerberg.

[csallen]

> He said woman cannot be in technology because they aren't interested in computers from a young age.

No, he never said that. He said that there are fewer women in tech, not that "women cannot be" in tech.

> But rather than seeking why women are excluded from technology even as children, he just blames women for not being interested in hacking.

He never did this either. Find me one quote where he blamed women for their lack of interest? The only thing he said was that the real way to solve this problem would be to get girls interested in hacking at a younger age, but that that's a difficult task. Does anyone actually disagree with that?

> ...but refuses to hire or fund anyone who does not have the exact life trajectory of Mark Zuckerberg.

YC invested in me, and I'm black. There were girls in my batch, too.

Rather than actually listen to the points being made, reflect on the nuances, and engage in conversation honestly, you'd rather feign outrage over falsified "facts" and make-believe quotes. This is exactly why discussions like this are always of such low quality.

[smadge]

Ok. I'll drop the feigned outrage and state my point objectively, without indicting PG.

Women aren't in technology because gender norms enforce at a young age that technology is not for girls. The industry perpetuates this norm by being dominated by men who do not make an effort to change the culture to be less of a "boys club." Women who do join technology have their qualifications and contributions second guessed, and have to endure work environments that are more like a fraternity house than an office, including greater chances of sexual harassment. The solution to this problem is going to have to come from within the industry. People within the industry will need to make an active effort to fix the problem, rather than just lamenting the status quo and shifting the blame to society and education.

[csallen]

Many thanks -- this is a MUCH better starting point for having a constructive conversation. I could type an essay in response, but I have to be on a plane soon, so I'll save it til later.

But to generalize, I think it's unrealistic to expect investors et al to shoulder this entire burden themselves.