7 ms·
The explicit nature of identifying these groups by race is off-putting, mostly because it is short-sighted. Racial identification can't be the solution if the u
by tcdent 11y ago
The explicit nature of identifying these groups by race is off-putting, mostly because it is short-sighted. Racial identification can't be the solution if the ultimate goal is to end racial disparity. This obviously isn't the first or last program YC implements, but as some point the message has got to become more sophisticated to accomplish the core goal.
YC is a numbers game. This simply encourages stereotypically atypical founders to succeed, skewing the numbers in their benefit for future investors. It also creates role models for potential founders, showing that this is not an industry dominated by just white guys.
From the perspective a middle class white male, I do worry you might be making the problem worse by reinforcing and/or encouraging elitism on both sides.
- mojuba 11y agoExactly this. By announcing separate open hours for groups B and C, don't they deliberately make their normal hours even more A?
- tptacek 11y agoI do not follow this logic. There are minority and women YC founders who already get the (A) hours.
- Alupis 11y agoWhat the parent is getting at, I think, is that by having explicitly set-aside hours for groups 'B' and 'C', it will create a stigma that groups 'B' and 'C' must attend only those designated hours -- effectively making the "normal" office hours for the "elite' group 'A'. It seems to me, no matter what way you look at it, separated office hours will perpetuate segregation and bigotry, instead of the desired effect.
- tptacek 11y agoThe normal office hours ARE elite. They're available only to people who have been accepted into YC. The goal of the program is to make more of those (A) group people members of underrepresented demographics.
- mojuba 11y agoYC is a private business of course, but since they started this initiative, wouldn't it be even more efficient to make YC staff itself more diverse? Rather than doing segregated open hours.
- mattdeboard 11y ago> it will create a stigma that groups 'B' and 'C' must attend only those designated hours Any data to support this?
- IkmoIkmo 11y agoI don't see how, no. Normal hours are still accessible to B and C, too, only now B and C do better in 'normal hours' as they've got a bit of a leg up. Over time B and C become role models, further increasing the presence of B and C in 'normal hours'. At least on paper.
- balls187 11y ago> The explicit nature of identifying these groups by race is off-putting They're also targeting Female, Veterans and international founders. All of which YC has identified as underrepresented in SV startups.
- mwseibel 11y agoYou make some really good points here. Here are my thoughts: members of these groups (race, sex, nationality) are being identified and negative stereotypes are being applied to them everyday. There has the be a distinction between giving people an explicit benefit based on race/sex/etc and doing outreach to members of different groups but then having an open and common application process for all.
- bakhy 11y agoi disagree with the anti-identification claim. if we indeed do not "see race", then how can we even talk about racism, let alone fix it? this may seem trivial, but it is important. as a gay guy, i've heard similar arguments from people (like, "i don't care about sexuality, as long as you're a good person"), and i believe in good intentions, but many people do "see race", and that creates a social situation where people are disadvantaged because of it. as i said in another comment here, social context is key and should not be ignored. if the scale is tipped to one side, you have to add weight to the other one if you want to balance it out.
- tcdent 11y agoWhat is the ultimate goal you wish to achieve? Do you want to be known as the "gay black guy", or just another human friend? What if your sexual interests go beyond current definitions; are we to add a new slice to the pie chart simply for one person's identification? The trans-gender, sexual-orientation debate gets specific, but it's irrelevant in the end. As I advised a kid confused about his orientation recently: it doesn't matter what the media labels as OK, it doesn't matter what your family labels as OK, listen to yourself and come up with your own (potentially-unique) ideas and then get on with your life. Nobody is going to tell you how to do it as well as you can tell yourself.
- bakhy 11y agofirst of all, i AM a gay guy, and anyone who wants to know me must eventually know that as well. i do not find the idea of hiding it or avoiding discussion about it attractive. in an ideal society, it should be as you say - everyone free to be themselves. but we do not live in that society. and if we want to get to that, then we need to take action. and asymmetric situations require asymmetric measures in order to achieve change. i believe your intentions are good, but do you realise that what you're suggesting sounds like we should all pretend that we're not black/white/gay/str8/whatever? it's really silly. for gay people, it was important to show our pride, not because we wanted to label ourselves even more, but because we had to direct attention to the issue to get it fixed, raise our visibility, get heard. and ultimately, going to gay pride was for me an incredibly empowering experience. one cruel thing about systematic discrimination is that the people affected by it often internalize it, and perceive themselves as less worthy. coming together and standing up for ourselves helps fight that too.