I think it's unfair to describe those women as non-hackers without knowing them well.
FWIW, pg can be described in a similar (limited) manner to argue that he's not a hacker: a venture capitalist with a degree in philosophy.
And I don't think pg meant that you have to be hacking since age 13 to be a "hacker" (it was an extreme example), but that you have to be passionate about it.
From his essay:
> What I was talking about here is the idea that to do something well you have to be interested in it for its own sake, not just because you had to pick something as a major.
What's with all the Academic credentialism? I've just read the entire thread and there are an incredible number of people who seem to think whether a person should be taken seriously or not is largely determined by if, what and where they studied in college.
Carolynn is a lawyer, with a bachelors is in political science.
Jessica previously worked at an investment bank, and has a BA in English.
Kirsty is an accountant, and although she holds an MEng in electrical and information sciences, it's not clear that she ever worked as an engineer.
This discussion is about young girls hacking with computers, which (I'm assuming, given their bios) none of these women did at that age.
I'm just disappointed that YC doesn't have a woman partner with a CS degree of any sort.