I am deeply grateful to the author for her bravery, courage, and moral clarity in the face of this unspeakable horror.
I’m commenting to share how I feel in response to this as someone who has ran an EA club in 2019, led some EA Virtual Programs, been to an EAGx in 2022, has donated ~$7,000 to EA charities, and is now close to finishing my undergraduate degree.
EA has long had a problem with patriarchy in general and sexual harassment in particular. Maybe this has been getting better (at least with the brand imagery), but top positions are still far more likely to privilege equally-qualified men over equally-qualified non-men. This has been more pronounced in certain areas of EA, like the more rationalist-oriented and AI-centric circles. The fact that these are problems in other subcultures and organizations is no excuse. EAs need to be upstanding moral citizens in all domains of their life, not just when working on top cause areas.
Patriarchal norms create power dynamics that make harm more likely, and remedying this through deep structural changes—not just policies—is essential for EA organizations to achieve their missions.
I have benefitted enormously from EA and I intend to engage a lot more with this community for the rest of my life. If anything, I’m coming back from an extended hiatus where I’ve focused on my undergraduate degree. I care deeply about making the world a better place and reducing suffering, and EA’s principles bring out the best in me. I love the fact that many EAs care so much about animals, some are vegan, and so many are willing to buck the status quo of the crazy consumerist culture we live in to either donate a lot of their income or work in a less prestigious job for an obscure cause. That combination of caring deeply with the heart while thinking carefully about how to do the most good is unparalleled to me.
At the same time, I have felt uncomfortable seeing the sexism and male privilege in EA, which is one of the reasons I distanced myself for several years, especially after the FTX collapse. (By the way, that was another instance where top leadership saw serious red flags and warning signs but didn’t take sufficient steps to investigate and correct course.)
All of this is to say that I sincerely hope that Frances’ courage here will prompt serious structural changes that make it impossible for anything like this to happen again.
I am deeply grateful to the author for her bravery, courage, and moral clarity in the face of this unspeakable horror.
I’m commenting to share how I feel in response to this as someone who has ran an EA club in 2019, led some EA Virtual Programs, been to an EAGx in 2022, has donated ~$7,000 to EA charities, and is now close to finishing my undergraduate degree.
EA has long had a problem with patriarchy in general and sexual harassment in particular. Maybe this has been getting better (at least with the brand imagery), but top positions are still far more likely to privilege equally-qualified men over equally-qualified non-men. This has been more pronounced in certain areas of EA, like the more rationalist-oriented and AI-centric circles. The fact that these are problems in other subcultures and organizations is no excuse. EAs need to be upstanding moral citizens in all domains of their life, not just when working on top cause areas.
Patriarchal norms create power dynamics that make harm more likely, and remedying this through deep structural changes—not just policies—is essential for EA organizations to achieve their missions.
I have benefitted enormously from EA and I intend to engage a lot more with this community for the rest of my life. If anything, I’m coming back from an extended hiatus where I’ve focused on my undergraduate degree. I care deeply about making the world a better place and reducing suffering, and EA’s principles bring out the best in me. I love the fact that many EAs care so much about animals, some are vegan, and so many are willing to buck the status quo of the crazy consumerist culture we live in to either donate a lot of their income or work in a less prestigious job for an obscure cause. That combination of caring deeply with the heart while thinking carefully about how to do the most good is unparalleled to me.
At the same time, I have felt uncomfortable seeing the sexism and male privilege in EA, which is one of the reasons I distanced myself for several years, especially after the FTX collapse. (By the way, that was another instance where top leadership saw serious red flags and warning signs but didn’t take sufficient steps to investigate and correct course.)
All of this is to say that I sincerely hope that Frances’ courage here will prompt serious structural changes that make it impossible for anything like this to happen again.