4 ms·

So, a potential employee decides not to work with your startup and you immediately jump to the conclusion that it's because you're female? It sounds to me like

So, a potential employee decides not to work with your startup and you immediately jump to the conclusion that it's because you're female? It sounds to me like he found a better job and just needed to give you an excuse. On top of this, this was not your boss, this is someone you were trying to hire. You can turn down a job for any reason and it has nothing to do with the "glass ceiling". Aren't we allowed to have opinions these days? If I don't like you and you just happen to be black, a woman, gay, etc..does it always have to be because of these traits..and not because you're an asshole?

ranebo 13y ago
Agreed. I see no evidence in this article of the writer being a woman having anything to do with it. It seems that she didn't herself make that connection until her "coach" suggested it.
wikiburner 13y ago
Furthermore, she states that she floated the idea of resigning months earlier, and then tendered her resignation because she decided on her own that this guy flaking in a very unprofessional manner somehow invalidated her leardership. It sounds like her co-founders were angry and upset at the candidate, not her. I think there could be a lot of truth to what Sheryl Sandberg says about men's self-confidence and sense of entitlement (often to a fault) being a huge factor in the disparity in male/female leadership in tech.
- wildgift 13y ago
  When you're leading, it doesn't necessarily matter who is at fault. Hiring someone who screws up reflects on the leader. Likewise, being unable to pull in the talent was a problem.
PLejeck 13y ago
In all seriousness, it sounds a lot like he was just trying to get some leverage in negotiations. Claim you've got a better option and pretend to bail, then they come begging you (partially since you led them on so far that bailing so late would put them in a tough place) and you can get a higher salary and better position.
anigbrowl 13y ago
So, a potential employee decides not to work with your startup and you immediately jump to the conclusion that it's because you're female? No, she immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was her fault and she then sacrificed her own future with the company in order to get this person onto the team. Some time later her coach pointed out that she overlooked the possibility of an age/gender issue. Why, I wonder, did you choose to completely mischaracterize the content of the article? On top of this, this was not your boss, this is someone you were trying to hire. You can turn down a job for any reason and it has nothing to do with the "glass ceiling". Backing out of an accepted job offer is a bit different from 'turning down a job'. Aren't we allowed to have opinions these days? If I don't like you and you just happen to be black, a woman, gay, etc..does it always have to be because of these traits..and not because you're an asshole? Nobody forced the candidate to accept the job offer before backing out of it on a rather flimsy pretext. He hadn't even started work yet, so I wonder what basis you think he had for deciding that his then-future boss was 'an asshole.'
- dylangs1030 13y ago
  Why, I wonder, did you choose to completely mischaracterize the content of the article? That's a little unfair. The article's title frames the story in reference to the glass ceiling. That the grandparent comment used the word "immediately" does not change the fact that this entire article is about sexism; even if it was only explicitly mentioned at the end, it is the author's point that sexism caused these events. It's not as though she wrote an article detailing these events and then threw in what her coach said because it's thought-provoking -- she actually believes it, factual or not. Backing out of an accepted job offer is a bit different from 'turning down a job'. While this sentence is true, it doesn't answer what the grandparent said. You can turn down a job, back out of a job, quit a job - whatever, for whatever reasons you want, and they don't have to remotely involve the glass ceiling. Nobody forced the candidate to accept the job offer before backing out of it on a rather flimsy pretext. He hadn't even started work yet, so I wonder what basis you think he had for deciding that his then-future boss was 'an asshole.' Similar to how rejection letters from a company are almost always form letters and not personal details about your interview performance, I don't see why you'd expect anything other than a flimsy excuse from a candidate turning down the job. And the grandparent wasn't saying the author is an asshole, just that it is an equally plausible explanation to her being a woman, young, gay, a dominatrix, diseased, whatever. I get what you're saying, anigbrowl, but I have to disagree. I fully believe sexism exists in tech, and most of the stories on HN about it are probably the real deal. But this doesn't have enough evidence to give me that impression. If anything, I'd say it's more that he didn't want to be the subordinate of an unassertive young person (ageism), not a female.

ranebo 13y ago

Agreed. I see no evidence in this article of the writer being a woman having anything to do with it. It seems that she didn't herself make that connection until her "coach" suggested it.

wikiburner 13y ago

Furthermore, she states that she floated the idea of resigning months earlier, and then tendered her resignation because she decided on her own that this guy flaking in a very unprofessional manner somehow invalidated her leardership. It sounds like her co-founders were angry and upset at the candidate, not her. I think there could be a lot of truth to what Sheryl Sandberg says about men's self-confidence and sense of entitlement (often to a fault) being a huge factor in the disparity in male/female leadership in tech.

wildgift 13y ago
When you're leading, it doesn't necessarily matter who is at fault. Hiring someone who screws up reflects on the leader. Likewise, being unable to pull in the talent was a problem.

PLejeck 13y ago

In all seriousness, it sounds a lot like he was just trying to get some leverage in negotiations. Claim you've got a better option and pretend to bail, then they come begging you (partially since you led them on so far that bailing so late would put them in a tough place) and you can get a higher salary and better position.

anigbrowl 13y ago

So, a potential employee decides not to work with your startup and you immediately jump to the conclusion that it's because you're female? No, she immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was her fault and she then sacrificed her own future with the company in order to get this person onto the team. Some time later her coach pointed out that she overlooked the possibility of an age/gender issue. Why, I wonder, did you choose to completely mischaracterize the content of the article? On top of this, this was not your boss, this is someone you were trying to hire. You can turn down a job for any reason and it has nothing to do with the "glass ceiling". Backing out of an accepted job offer is a bit different from 'turning down a job'. Aren't we allowed to have opinions these days? If I don't like you and you just happen to be black, a woman, gay, etc..does it always have to be because of these traits..and not because you're an asshole? Nobody forced the candidate to accept the job offer before backing out of it on a rather flimsy pretext. He hadn't even started work yet, so I wonder what basis you think he had for deciding that his then-future boss was 'an asshole.'

dylangs1030 13y ago
Why, I wonder, did you choose to completely mischaracterize the content of the article? That's a little unfair. The article's title frames the story in reference to the glass ceiling. That the grandparent comment used the word "immediately" does not change the fact that this entire article is about sexism; even if it was only explicitly mentioned at the end, it is the author's point that sexism caused these events. It's not as though she wrote an article detailing these events and then threw in what her coach said because it's thought-provoking -- she actually believes it, factual or not. Backing out of an accepted job offer is a bit different from 'turning down a job'. While this sentence is true, it doesn't answer what the grandparent said. You can turn down a job, back out of a job, quit a job - whatever, for whatever reasons you want, and they don't have to remotely involve the glass ceiling. Nobody forced the candidate to accept the job offer before backing out of it on a rather flimsy pretext. He hadn't even started work yet, so I wonder what basis you think he had for deciding that his then-future boss was 'an asshole.' Similar to how rejection letters from a company are almost always form letters and not personal details about your interview performance, I don't see why you'd expect anything other than a flimsy excuse from a candidate turning down the job. And the grandparent wasn't saying the author is an asshole, just that it is an equally plausible explanation to her being a woman, young, gay, a dominatrix, diseased, whatever. I get what you're saying, anigbrowl, but I have to disagree. I fully believe sexism exists in tech, and most of the stories on HN about it are probably the real deal. But this doesn't have enough evidence to give me that impression. If anything, I'd say it's more that he didn't want to be the subordinate of an unassertive young person (ageism), not a female.