Female Founder Secrets: Fertility • Hacker News Board

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#71

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

dheera wrote: post #32

rantwasp wrote: post #3

I empathize with how hard it is for a female founder in particular and for a woman in general when it comes to mixing children with a career. That said the advice to freeze your eggs (ie work now, live later) rubs me the wrong way. I wish we could live in a society where people would not have to work themselves to death and were able to... you know... enjoy life

Potentially controversial thought here, but I'd like to bring it up for discussion. I feel like the work ethic I see throughout the industry is extremely toxic to society, and leads to some of this. In China for example there's a so-called "996" work schedule (9am-9pm, 6 days a week) which is basically expected of everyone in tech, unfortunately, and it seems Silicon Valley is heading that direction as well with all…

I'm not sure if you've got the details right, but it is definitely true that if you are taking part in any elite competition, you are probably going to be competing against people who are working very hard. I don't think that this is specific to male cofounders. Even in the counterfactual world where all founders are women, some will work harder than others, and if there is a perception that the harder workers are more likely to succeed, there will be pressure on everyone else to work harder as well.

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#72

Post by lainga » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

abellerose wrote: post #60

lainga wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What impact do you foresee any economic gains from childlessness having in 100 years, if your advice is followed universally? Who will inherit those gains?

I believe the context for the advice is directed to whoever is capable of having children. So, economic gains are meaningless to them when they're dead in 100 years.

Put another way: let's say everyone who is capable of children follows your advice. To whom are these economic gains meaningful in 100 years? Who would their parents be?

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#73

Post by abellerose » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #56

abellerose wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's completely unethical to have kids and like another commenter has said brings a great disadvantage economically. I would suggest to anyone to not follow your advice. edit: I won't be further commenting on the topic because the same people asking everyone "when are you going to have kids like me?" are just going to downvote. Yes, I rather see an end to humankind because that ends suffering. Less suffering in a uni…

It's unethical to have kids? I don't follow.

You might find the following interesting: https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/choosing-children-ethical... I, for one, would never bring another life into this world and while so much suffering occurs. It's ethical to adopt contrary to conceive children.

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#74

Post by john_moscow » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

abellerose wrote: post #41

austincheney wrote: post #7

The only logical answer here is youth. The younger you are the more fertile you are. This is true for both men and women, but more true for women. If you want children at some point in life then prioritize children first and early. I know, this puts your ambitious career on hold for a while and start ups require huge ambition. Still, start up opportunities will not be hyper critically different in the future than the…

It's completely unethical to have kids and like another commenter has said brings a great disadvantage economically. I would suggest to anyone to not follow your advice. edit: I won't be further commenting on the topic because the same people asking everyone "when are you going to have kids like me?" are just going to downvote. Yes, I rather see an end to humankind because that ends suffering. Less suffering in a uni…

That's what the corporations want you to believe because they want you to spend as much time and energy as possible being a cog in their machine and source the next generation of workers from the lowest bidder on the global scale.

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#75

Post by oeuiiuhmbuh » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:09 PM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #15

austincheney wrote: post #7

The only logical answer here is youth. The younger you are the more fertile you are. This is true for both men and women, but more true for women. If you want children at some point in life then prioritize children first and early. I know, this puts your ambitious career on hold for a while and start ups require huge ambition. Still, start up opportunities will not be hyper critically different in the future than the…

This advice is likely economically bad though. Capital now is better than capital later. I would think money made early and saved by not having children and invested will end up being much more then what will be spent on a fertility clinic later.

Mother's age at birth directly affects a child's health and life outcomes [1]. It is impossible to replace a woman's 20s with any amount of money.

[1] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-1...

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#76

Post by mattnewton » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:09 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #66

_lx4l wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adoption is another logical answer that can be very rewarding. All of us in the family I grew up in were adopted as infants. It's more expensive than birthing your own children but I imagine parents that left their fertile years focused on a career would be able to afford adoption.

In most places adoption is also very expensive. For some absurd reason prospective adopting parents must prove they are worthy of raising children to the state, while biological parents don't have to prove anything.

Because orphans are wards of the state, and if the state thinks you would do a worse job providing for them why would they hand the child over?

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#77

Post by drakonka » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:09 PM UTC

lainga wrote: post #46

abellerose wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's completely unethical to have kids and like another commenter has said brings a great disadvantage economically. I would suggest to anyone to not follow your advice. edit: I won't be further commenting on the topic because the same people asking everyone "when are you going to have kids like me?" are just going to downvote. Yes, I rather see an end to humankind because that ends suffering. Less suffering in a uni…

What impact do you foresee any economic gains from childlessness having in 100 years, if your advice is followed universally? Who will inherit those gains?

I think of this as a non-issue; either my partner, or a friend, or a charity of choice will inherit my gains if I don't spend them all enjoying life first.

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#78

Post by DanBC » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:09 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #66

_lx4l wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adoption is another logical answer that can be very rewarding. All of us in the family I grew up in were adopted as infants. It's more expensive than birthing your own children but I imagine parents that left their fertile years focused on a career would be able to afford adoption.

In most places adoption is also very expensive. For some absurd reason prospective adopting parents must prove they are worthy of raising children to the state, while biological parents don't have to prove anything.

Children are taken off the parents to protect them from harm. We can only justify that if we then protect them from harm, and that means not placing them with abusive parents.

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#79

Post by Cederfjard » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:09 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #56

abellerose wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's completely unethical to have kids and like another commenter has said brings a great disadvantage economically. I would suggest to anyone to not follow your advice. edit: I won't be further commenting on the topic because the same people asking everyone "when are you going to have kids like me?" are just going to downvote. Yes, I rather see an end to humankind because that ends suffering. Less suffering in a uni…

It's unethical to have kids? I don't follow.

That was my interpretation. There are some antinatalists out there.

Re: Female Founder Secrets: Fertility

#80

Post by itronitron » Thu, Mar 04, 2021, 6:10 PM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #15

austincheney wrote: post #7

The only logical answer here is youth. The younger you are the more fertile you are. This is true for both men and women, but more true for women. If you want children at some point in life then prioritize children first and early. I know, this puts your ambitious career on hold for a while and start ups require huge ambition. Still, start up opportunities will not be hyper critically different in the future than the…

This advice is likely economically bad though. Capital now is better than capital later. I would think money made early and saved by not having children and invested will end up being much more then what will be spent on a fertility clinic later.

If you have very good health insurance then the main cost for having children is going to be the increased cost of housing, which can be a capital investment. In addition to mortgage deduction, families also get deductions for children so there really isn't much to be saved by not having children until later in life.