Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
1–10 of 42 posts
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#2Aside from arbitrary virtue signaling and moral grand standing, what's the point?
$1 is $1 no matter which pocket it comes from. Also, this would be introducing discrimination based on immutable traits - two steps backwards there guys...
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#3Huh. Looking at the headline, I had thought that this would mean, "we'll fund your startup, if you agree to meet these diversity hiring targets." But if I'm reading the article correctly, it actually means, "we, the VCs, will try to have more diversity among the people writing the checks."
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#4We need to stop introducing artificial racist/sexist affirmative action policies and instead stick to including people based on merit. The injection of this ideology everywhere is pernicious, unnecessary, and discriminatory.
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#5I love how everyone uses throwaways in these comments because they know any deviation from the progressive-left line will get them cancelled!
I’ll say it under my name - I’m completely old fashioned and probably racist / sexist / *-phobic whatever because I still agree with Martin Luther King that it is morally correct to judge someone by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. I’m so totally backwards! I meet someone new and have a blank slate no matter what color they are or what they look like! I do this intensely regressive thing where I listen to what they have to say and judge them by their words and actions. I know, very evil and wrong of me, but I can’t help it - I still like Martin Luther King!
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#6I love how everyone uses throwaways in these comments because they know any deviation from the progressive-left line will get them cancelled! I’ll say it under my name - I’m completely old fashioned and probably racist / sexist / *-phobic whatever because I still agree with Martin Luther King that it is morally correct to judge someone by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. I’m so tota…
We all carry biases, including towards/against groups we wouldn't expect to be biased towards/against. We probably all start with blank slates, but, unless you've had zero interactions with the outside world, you'd have to work actively to retain that blank-slate outlook.
In aggregate, we run the risk of collectively creating various forms of systemic bias. We can test for these systemic biases (we have) and prove the existence/non-existence of said biases (we have).
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#7I love how everyone uses throwaways in these comments because they know any deviation from the progressive-left line will get them cancelled! I’ll say it under my name - I’m completely old fashioned and probably racist / sexist / *-phobic whatever because I still agree with Martin Luther King that it is morally correct to judge someone by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. I’m so tota…
We all carry biases, including towards/against groups we wouldn't expect to be biased towards/against. We probably all start with blank slates, but, unless you've had zero interactions with the outside world, you'd have to work actively to retain that blank-slate outlook. In aggregate, we run the risk of collectively creating various forms of systemic bias. We can test for these systemic biases (we have) and prove th…
> We can test for these systemic biases (we have)
How do you propose testing this? Typically, a difference in outcomes is taken as evidence of systemic bias, but it isn't the same thing. For example, if one cohort commits more crimes, they are going to have more police interactions, more arrests, and so forth. But that's not a systemic bias. Unfortunately the recent "anti-racist" authors like Ibram Kendi have been pushing a false and expansive definition, where they term any difference in outcomes (or as they put it, any racial inequity), as "racist". That's not what most people would call "racist".
> prove the existence/non-existence of said biases (we have)
As for the existence of biases, I assume you are referring to the 'implicit association test', which is commonly used as a tool to identify unconscious biases. The IAP methodology has been challenged and debunked many times. Studies have also found that measures of implicit bias do not predict how people act in real life. See https://newdiscourses.com/2020/06/flaws-white-fragility-theo... for more.
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#8I love how everyone uses throwaways in these comments because they know any deviation from the progressive-left line will get them cancelled! I’ll say it under my name - I’m completely old fashioned and probably racist / sexist / *-phobic whatever because I still agree with Martin Luther King that it is morally correct to judge someone by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. I’m so tota…
Not a throwaway here either, just felt strongly enough to make an account and add my $0.02 when I might otherwise lurk.
I believe as you do, that we should explore viewpoints counter to the mainstream and break the echo chamber to expose poor and Illogical thinking wherever it presents.
I imagine MLK would be appalled by the weak, hollow, pandering which is outlined here.
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#9Huh. Looking at the headline, I had thought that this would mean, "we'll fund your startup, if you agree to meet these diversity hiring targets." But if I'm reading the article correctly, it actually means, "we, the VCs, will try to have more diversity among the people writing the checks."
Of the handful of comments currently posted, yours is the only one that shows evidence of actually having read the article.
Personally, I think it's a good thing that VC funds are trying to include people from underrepresented groups into their club. At least, I hope that's what they're doing, because all this "best effort" language basically means they're not really obligated to do anything.
Re: Venture capital firms to include “diversity riders” in term sheets
#10I love how everyone uses throwaways in these comments because they know any deviation from the progressive-left line will get them cancelled! I’ll say it under my name - I’m completely old fashioned and probably racist / sexist / *-phobic whatever because I still agree with Martin Luther King that it is morally correct to judge someone by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. I’m so tota…
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