6 ms·

I don't care if they're female or not.

mindcrime 14y ago
I long for a day when this can be the worldview of most everybody... when we don't even have to care about gender differences, because we believe (rightly) that every individual is afford equal opportunity to do/be/build/dream/create as they see fit, without gender (or race, or religion or skin color, etc.) even entering into the equation. That said, we aren't in that world yet, so celebrating the accomplishments of female founders, and hoping they will serve as role models (or at least inspiration) for others who may feel disadvantaged or inhibited in some way, is probably a good thing.
philtar 14y ago
I was thinking of a way to say it without hurting any feelings and you did that perfectly. In Kuwait, people went through what the technology industry is going through now. People were so up in arms about women not being treated fairly that the women have been compensated so much people are complaining the other way around now. A man was running against a woman for a government position and his slogan against her was "Was she elected despite being a woman or because she is a woman?" That struck a chord with a lot of people and he annihilated her at the polls.
- vowelless 14y ago
  I was in Kuwait for the 09 elections when women were first elected to the parliament. What was the incident you talk about? Additionally, high castes in India frequently complain about the government mandated reservations for low castes and other minorities (example, at the IIT [1]). I remember there was a year when the low caste positions went vacant just because they were reserved for them, while qualified high caste students were rejected. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_policy_in_Indian_Institutes_of_Technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_policy_in_Indian_In...
caseorganic 14y ago
Thank you. I'm much more interested in 'people' in tech and interesting founders. What about the most interesting founders in the class? The most interesting 'people' in the class? So many people are excited about one kind of person in tech that they draw attention in the wrong way.
- groby_b 14y ago
  As a woman in tech - the existence of role models is important. They often get lost in the noise. Having them pointed out in a separate post is nice. It's not like they're taking away precious bits from male founders :) And our industry sure could use a bit more diversity, so attracting non-male (and/or non-white) people to work in it is a good idea. And I'm not saying that because it'd be nice to have a few more women around, so things wouldn't be quite as lonely - there's a clear benefit to diversity. See e.g. https://infocus.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuseaction=OpenArticle&aoid=360157&lang=EN https://infocus.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuse... Why it is especially important in areas that require innovation: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/hr_neale_groupdiversity.shtml http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/hr_neale_groupdive...
  - jami 14y ago
    Judging by the username, you are preaching to the head of the choir on women belonging in tech. Her point about getting attention for the wrong reasons is a fair one, as is yours about role models. Who knows what's ideal, besides continuing to prove we can do this stuff.
    - groby_b 14y ago
      I'm curious how my username would trigger that thought? I also had no idea caseorganic was a woman :)
      - jami 14y ago
        Whoops, I meant that judging by c.o.'s username, we're all on Team More Ladies In Tech Good. I recognized her username because with more time, I would have liked to use her company's API on a project I worked on.
saraid216 14y ago
I don't care that they're female. I care that they're not male.
- abduhl 14y ago
  This type of thinking marginalizes women by constantly comparing them to men. It sets the equality for women in tech cause back by subtly ingraining the idea that we should be focusing on the males rather than the females. If you are in favor of more women in tech then say exactly that. Unless you're actually just against men in the tech field, in which case you should just carry on doing what you're doing.
  - saraid216 14y ago
    Citation needed.

I long for a day when this can be the worldview of most everybody... when we don't even have to care about gender differences, because we believe (rightly) that every individual is afford equal opportunity to do/be/build/dream/create as they see fit, without gender (or race, or religion or skin color, etc.) even entering into the equation. That said, we aren't in that world yet, so celebrating the accomplishments of female founders, and hoping they will serve as role models (or at least inspiration) for others who may feel disadvantaged or inhibited in some way, is probably a good thing.

philtar 14y ago

I was thinking of a way to say it without hurting any feelings and you did that perfectly. In Kuwait, people went through what the technology industry is going through now. People were so up in arms about women not being treated fairly that the women have been compensated so much people are complaining the other way around now. A man was running against a woman for a government position and his slogan against her was "Was she elected despite being a woman or because she is a woman?" That struck a chord with a lot of people and he annihilated her at the polls.

vowelless 14y ago
I was in Kuwait for the 09 elections when women were first elected to the parliament. What was the incident you talk about? Additionally, high castes in India frequently complain about the government mandated reservations for low castes and other minorities (example, at the IIT [1]). I remember there was a year when the low caste positions went vacant just because they were reserved for them, while qualified high caste students were rejected. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_policy_in_Indian_Institutes_of_Technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_policy_in_Indian_In...

caseorganic 14y ago

Thank you. I'm much more interested in 'people' in tech and interesting founders. What about the most interesting founders in the class? The most interesting 'people' in the class? So many people are excited about one kind of person in tech that they draw attention in the wrong way.

groby_b 14y ago
As a woman in tech - the existence of role models is important. They often get lost in the noise. Having them pointed out in a separate post is nice. It's not like they're taking away precious bits from male founders :) And our industry sure could use a bit more diversity, so attracting non-male (and/or non-white) people to work in it is a good idea. And I'm not saying that because it'd be nice to have a few more women around, so things wouldn't be quite as lonely - there's a clear benefit to diversity. See e.g. https://infocus.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuseaction=OpenArticle&aoid=360157&lang=EN https://infocus.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuse... Why it is especially important in areas that require innovation: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/hr_neale_groupdiversity.shtml http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/hr_neale_groupdive...
- jami 14y ago
  Judging by the username, you are preaching to the head of the choir on women belonging in tech. Her point about getting attention for the wrong reasons is a fair one, as is yours about role models. Who knows what's ideal, besides continuing to prove we can do this stuff.
  - groby_b 14y ago
    I'm curious how my username would trigger that thought? I also had no idea caseorganic was a woman :)
    - jami 14y ago
      Whoops, I meant that judging by c.o.'s username, we're all on Team More Ladies In Tech Good. I recognized her username because with more time, I would have liked to use her company's API on a project I worked on.

saraid216 14y ago

I don't care that they're female. I care that they're not male.

abduhl 14y ago
This type of thinking marginalizes women by constantly comparing them to men. It sets the equality for women in tech cause back by subtly ingraining the idea that we should be focusing on the males rather than the females. If you are in favor of more women in tech then say exactly that. Unless you're actually just against men in the tech field, in which case you should just carry on doing what you're doing.
- saraid216 14y ago
  Citation needed.