Even if you think that involvement in EA is mostly a matter of altruistic self-sacrifice (which I think is an oversimplification), it can still be true that there are women, people of colour, LGBTQ people, or people from other marginalized groups who want to make that altruistic self-sacrifice. Should they have the autonomy, the right to make that decision? I think so.
If people from these groups say that the barriers to their involvement in EA is not the amount of self-sacrifice involved, but other factors like perceived unwelcomingness toward people of their demographic, not seeing other people like them represented in EA, or a lack of trust or a sense of safety (e.g. around sexual harassment or instances of discrimination or prejudice, or the community’s response to it) — or other things of that nature — then that is a moral failing on the part of EA, and not noblesse oblige.
Even if you think that involvement in EA is mostly a matter of altruistic self-sacrifice (which I think is an oversimplification), it can still be true that there are women, people of colour, LGBTQ people, or people from other marginalized groups who want to make that altruistic self-sacrifice. Should they have the autonomy, the right to make that decision? I think so.
If people from these groups say that the barriers to their involvement in EA is not the amount of self-sacrifice involved, but other factors like perceived unwelcomingness toward people of their demographic, not seeing other people like them represented in EA, or a lack of trust or a sense of safety (e.g. around sexual harassment or instances of discrimination or prejudice, or the community’s response to it) — or other things of that nature — then that is a moral failing on the part of EA, and not noblesse oblige.
I agree with you that improving intracommunity experience is important.