[dmn757]

Why is it pg's job to encourage ANYONE to get into any given profession or area of study? How would you feel if, when you were a kid (or adult for that matter), someone came up to you and told you what you should or shouldn't be doing for a living. That one profession has less of your type so you should do that. Doesn't that seem a little ridiculous? There are plenty of jobs that have many more women than men. Do you see massive outrage because the workforce is lacking in those jobs? How about the hundreds of other fields that are male-dominated? Perhaps VC/Startups/Tech is an easy target because the field is so lucrative.

The world needs less belief and viewpoint shaping and more free-thinking. Where this nonsense arises is when we put people into groups or they put themselves into groups. Be yourself.

[ceol]

You seem to be conflating a lot of things.

For starters, no one is saying it's pg's job. The interviewer asked him if he felt there was anything he could be doing to get more women into YC.

Second, "encourage" does not mean "order someone to do something." No one is going to up women, putting their hands on their shoulders, shaking them, and telling them they must be developers! Instead, they're creating spaces that are welcoming and friendly to women. They aren't forcing them through the door; they're opening it for them and showing them all the delicious cookies inside.

> There are plenty of jobs that have many more women than men. Do you see massive outrage because the workforce is lacking in those jobs?

Yes. There are plenty of initiatives to get more men into nursing, fashion, and teaching. Just because you didn't take the three seconds to search for them doesn't mean they don't exist. You don't hear about them because, what a shocker, you aren't part of those communities. It's almost like you're on a website dedicated to tech culture or something!

[dmn757]

  For starters, no one is saying it's pg's job. The interviewer asked him if he felt there was anything he could be doing to get more women into YC.

Of course this is just my opinion, but to me the tone of the interview sounds as though the interviewer was suggesting that pg should be doing more, himself, to get more women into the field.

  Second, "encourage" does not mean "order someone to do something." No one is going to up women, putting their hands on their shoulders, shaking them, and telling them they must be developers! Instead, they're creating spaces that are welcoming and friendly to women. They aren't forcing them through the door; they're opening it for them and showing them all the delicious cookies inside.

I never said "order someone to do something." In fact I specifically used the word "encourage," but I guess you can twist my words to try and further your agenda. Stating that you want to create female friendly spaces is inherently sexist. I don't know, I think we just differ philosophically and I am more of the mind that people should be friendly regardless of what/who you are. I just don't think that we need special programs for every single "group" that is not interested in something.

  Yes. There are plenty of initiatives to get more men into nursing, fashion, and teaching. Just because you didn't take the three seconds to search for them doesn't mean they don't exist. You don't hear about them because, what a shocker, you aren't part of those communities. It's almost like you're on a website dedicated to tech culture or something!

As someone who originally studied to be a male nurse, yes I am aware of those programs. Please try to not be so condescending.