𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙞𝙖𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙖: 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 & 𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥

The Biases Must End

Here's the post where my comment was made: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kuanning-tseng_here-are-tips-to-unlock-your-potential-learn-activity-7126463828904529920-ooX9

𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 "𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙞𝙖𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙖: 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 & 𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥" 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿.

As a 3x founder and a successful VC who has supported numerous projects led by both male and female founders, I've encountered my fair share of similar statements from my male counterparts. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥.

In the realm of venture capital, where innovation and entrepreneurship should flourish without bias, a troubling issue persists. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙑𝘾𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙞𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙢. This issue recently came to light during a professional conversation when a female entrepreneur was sharing strategies to UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL and excel as a high performer. It was in this context that a male VC put forth a perplexing notion: 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨.

This incident exposes a much broader problem – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗜𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 & 𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣. These biases manifest in various forms, but 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣'𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. These stereotypes not only undermine women in the industry but also perpetuate a culture where their contributions are often overlooked or underestimated.

For women in entrepreneurship, these stereotypes can have a chilling effect on female-led startups, their career aspirations, and professional development. When women are consistently pigeonholed into traditional gender roles or belittled based on their family choices, it discourages them from pursuing leadership positions and entrepreneurial ventures. This ultimately hinders the diversity and inclusivity that the industry so desperately needs to thrive.

I firmly believe that not only should women stand up for other women, but men should join this collective effort. By challenging these arrogant viewpoints, women in venture capital, and in any professional field, can reclaim their narrative and demand recognition for their skills, knowledge, and achievements. This will help highlight and strengthen the efforts of both women and men as they raise their voices and champion gender equality.

It is high time for a shift in the mindset of the venture capital industry and society at large. 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙣, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙐𝙉𝙍𝙀𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝙏𝙊 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙄𝙍 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙁𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝘾𝘼𝙋𝘼𝘽𝙄𝙇𝙄𝙏𝙄𝙀𝙎. Creating a more inclusive environment where talent is recognized and promoted regardless of gender is not just a matter of equality; it's essential for the industry's success and growth.

While this incident may be a microcosm of a more significant issue, 𝙄𝙏 𝙎𝙀𝙍𝙑𝙀𝙎 𝘼𝙎 𝘼 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙆 𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙀𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙎 𝙒𝙊𝙈𝙀𝙉 𝙁𝘼𝘾𝙀 𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀 𝘾𝘼𝙋𝙄𝙏𝘼𝙇 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙋𝙍𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙐𝙍𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙋. It is crucial that both men and women within the industry actively challenge stereotypes and work together to create an environment where all are recognized for their talents and abilities, rather than their gender or personal choices. Only through collective efforts can we hope to break down the walls of arrogance and bias, including sexism, that have held the industry back for far too long.

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I'm adding this section on November 5, 2023, at 3:15 PM PST, one day after the initial post. Below is a video clip of Taylor Swift's insights within the entertainment industry, demonstrating their relevance in the world of technology, venture capitalism, entrepreneurship, and more. Could anyone have foreseen a scenario where a female inquires of a male whether having children automatically makes one a high achiever?

Why is it that men often attribute a woman's childbearing to being the central focus of their professional lives?