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Leap: An Online Community for Women

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#51

Post by glorkk »

rev_bird wrote: post #40
probably_wrong wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll go straight to the difficult questions: 1. I thought gender-based discrimination was illegal. How is Leap not illegal? 2. One of the main objections of "gentleman's clubs" was that their (male) members had access to important networking contacts, putting women in unequal foot in an unfair way when it came to businesses. Wouldn't Leap be unfair in the same way?

>Wouldn't Leap be unfair in the same way? This assumption completely disregards the measurable advantage men have in the tech community. If you have identical programs, one for a historically disenfranchised group, and one for the group that's been in power for decades, only one of those programs is shitty. edit: "Advantage" was a poor choice of words, but since it's been quoted in replies I'll leave it. I meant some…

> the measurable advantage men have in the tech community

I’m sure if it is “measurable” you can provide some numbers?

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#52

Post by [deleted] »

asllsa wrote: post #42

So, just to clarify: I, as a man, am being excluded, not because I am unskilled or any other bad quality other than my gender? Your community's design actively fosters hate and exclusion due to something I can not control. I hope your service, and others like it, crashes and burns, because it is a step backwards after we have come so far.

[deleted]

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#53

Post by TheAdamAndChe »

ianwalter wrote: post #48
TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am really conflicted about this. On one hand, I think that it will provide a valuable resource for a large group of people, which is good! On the other hand, an online tech community designed solely for men would be met with hate and massive backlash. If equality is our goal, how will self-segregation help meet that goal?

I am curious: have you spent a lot of time thinking about this or was this the first reaction that popped into your head?

That is a good question, and I've thought about it a lot. There seems to be a growing group of people who think it's okay for minorities to discriminate against the majority in order to gain more power, but I'm just not convinced that it's the right way to correct social imbalances. I think that it would lead to everyone both in the majority and minority feeling persecuted. I think this would fuel and maintain hatred and disdain between groups instead of finding a way for everyone to thrive within a single group. If you disagree or see a flaw in my thinking, please let me know.

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#54

Post by turinapple »

I'm a woman that's worked in tech since 2011... at times the discrimination and treatment I've faced has made me want to quit the industry all together. But every time I reached that point I thought - no, I'm not the one who should have to leave, it's the people -- usually men -- who have not shown empathy, kindness or compassion. The ones who have bullied me and harassed me and made inappropriate comments or advances. So many of these experiences I just buried inside until I was in the company of other people I trusted and felt safe to share. There hasn't really been an online forum where I felt safe to have these conversations until now. Now that Leap is here I have other people who get me who I can talk to about the stuff that is bugging me. With their help I can treat each day as new and keep moving forward with my career. If you don't understand why this community is important perhaps it's because you have had the privilege of never feeling like a second class citizen in the industry you work in.

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#55

Post by ianwalter »

asllsa wrote: post #42

So, just to clarify: I, as a man, am being excluded, not because I am unskilled or any other bad quality other than my gender? Your community's design actively fosters hate and exclusion due to something I can not control. I hope your service, and others like it, crashes and burns, because it is a step backwards after we have come so far.

Why do you want to be included? What would be the point of it if you were?

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#56

Post by RangerScience »

asllsa wrote: post #42

So, just to clarify: I, as a man, am being excluded, not because I am unskilled or any other bad quality other than my gender? Your community's design actively fosters hate and exclusion due to something I can not control. I hope your service, and others like it, crashes and burns, because it is a step backwards after we have come so far.

> If you identify as a woman and are interested in joining Leap

You, as not a woman, are not being included. This is very different from exclusion. It also does not make any comment about male-ness equating with bad-ness; ironically, you are the one bringing in the idea that membership/non-membership in a category involves a quality judgement.

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#57

Post by rev_bird »

glorkk wrote: post #43
rev_bird wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't imagine why a group wouldn't want you in their project.

A group does not “want” anything. Innovation comes from exchange of ideas between individuals, not from arbitrary groups living behind walled gardens.

>A group does not "want" anything.

I disagree. A group of women is saying they feel marginalized and want to develop a community of support. Men, particularly ones in this awful comment section are saying "NO FAIR!!!" Those seem like groups, and they clearly want things.

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#58

Post by rev_bird »

asllsa wrote: post #42

So, just to clarify: I, as a man, am being excluded, not because I am unskilled or any other bad quality other than my gender? Your community's design actively fosters hate and exclusion due to something I can not control. I hope your service, and others like it, crashes and burns, because it is a step backwards after we have come so far.

>Your community's design actively fosters hate and exclusion due to something I can not control.

The tech community fosters hate and exclusion of women due to something THEY can't control. This is an attempt to remedy some of that.

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#59

Post by woahdudebro »

iovrthoughtthis wrote: post #47
asllsa wrote: post #42

So, just to clarify: I, as a man, am being excluded, not because I am unskilled or any other bad quality other than my gender? Your community's design actively fosters hate and exclusion due to something I can not control. I hope your service, and others like it, crashes and burns, because it is a step backwards after we have come so far.

How does it foster hate? That's a pretty big jump.

I have discovered white nationalist groups who believe that other races are not inferior but merely different and thus they wish for a society where they are excluded. Does that foster hate?

Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women

#60

Post by actuallyalys »

cbcowans wrote: post #44
actuallyalys wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you use the Facebook link to verify that the person is female? I'm trans and out as a woman in a lot of places, including at the tech company where I work, but not on Facebook.

I do all verification manually. Please send me a note at cadran at ycombinator.com and we can discuss further.

Thanks!
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