I cannot imagine mustering any offense toward a group of people for spending their own money to organize a conference about a topic that interests them. None.
Good for them for doing something they're passionate about.
There is of course a genuine (world-wide) problem they're trying to solve. As Paul Graham himself has written:
> I also think girls are less likely to become nerds than boys of equal intelligence, possibly because they’re more sensitive to social pressures. In my school, at least, girls made more of an effort to conform than boys.
If this conference could encourage girls to take risks (socially and financially) rather than go with the flow, that would be huge and extremely positive.
In a society that is far more sensitive to girls' needs than boys' needs, however, I do fear that conferences like this further marginalize disadvantaged boys (of all races). The overwhelming majority of boys do not go on to start startups, nor do the overwhelming majority of boys think they have a realistic shot. We all do a great job of completely ignoring those boys' needs, assuring ourselves that "nearly every senator and billionaire tech founder is a man, so boys will end up doing just fine".
It might be time for people to start catering conferences toward this growing, ignored group of young people.
Of course, that is NOT YC's responsibility. Just because they want to work on one issue doesn't mean they're morally obligated to work on another.
I hope this conference goes well for everyone involved.
Agree, whether it's startups or politics, those born into a lower social class don't really have advocates (obviously politicians pay lip service to the poor). That said, if a group of upper-class women want to have a founder conference where the attendees are primarily upper-class women no one should begrudge them.
Good for them for doing something they're passionate about.
There is of course a genuine (world-wide) problem they're trying to solve. As Paul Graham himself has written:
> I also think girls are less likely to become nerds than boys of equal intelligence, possibly because they’re more sensitive to social pressures. In my school, at least, girls made more of an effort to conform than boys.
If this conference could encourage girls to take risks (socially and financially) rather than go with the flow, that would be huge and extremely positive.
In a society that is far more sensitive to girls' needs than boys' needs, however, I do fear that conferences like this further marginalize disadvantaged boys (of all races). The overwhelming majority of boys do not go on to start startups, nor do the overwhelming majority of boys think they have a realistic shot. We all do a great job of completely ignoring those boys' needs, assuring ourselves that "nearly every senator and billionaire tech founder is a man, so boys will end up doing just fine".
It might be time for people to start catering conferences toward this growing, ignored group of young people.
Of course, that is NOT YC's responsibility. Just because they want to work on one issue doesn't mean they're morally obligated to work on another.
I hope this conference goes well for everyone involved.