The “Career progression and earning potential” section was so difficult to read; I know the point is to raise awareness about expectation-setting and not viewing men as default, but the point that sticks in my mind is the old “having kids is a career killer.”
As a woman on the fence about having kids, the thought of literally making the world worse (not saving 6.8 lives) for something that would also damage my career is...so awful. Calling this information to others’ attention needs to be done with care to avoid the sort of “women are less valuable EAs according to math” conclusion. I know this isn’t the conclusion, and I know we care about the same problem (women doing well in EA). But I found this post profoundly discouraging.
Perhaps you’ve seen these things already if you’re thinking about having kids, but Julia Wise and Jeff Kaufman have written about their decision to be parents and their experiences parenting extensively. The stuff I could find that addresses the question of making the decision:
The “Career progression and earning potential” section was so difficult to read; I know the point is to raise awareness about expectation-setting and not viewing men as default, but the point that sticks in my mind is the old “having kids is a career killer.”
As a woman on the fence about having kids, the thought of literally making the world worse (not saving 6.8 lives) for something that would also damage my career is...so awful. Calling this information to others’ attention needs to be done with care to avoid the sort of “women are less valuable EAs according to math” conclusion. I know this isn’t the conclusion, and I know we care about the same problem (women doing well in EA). But I found this post profoundly discouraging.
Perhaps you’ve seen these things already if you’re thinking about having kids, but Julia Wise and Jeff Kaufman have written about their decision to be parents and their experiences parenting extensively. The stuff I could find that addresses the question of making the decision:
OK to Have Kids?
Cheerfully
What startup founders should think about before having kids