…I hadn’t thought through what most of the “EAs” I was meeting had spent months or years thinking about already, and even if something made sense as soon as I heard it and considered it, I felt negatively judged for not having already thought of it just because I hadn’t happened to have previously had any prompting to consider that specific thing from any of the conditions of my life up until then.
This does sound rather obnoxious. Especially considering that ideas like earning to give weren’t invented independently by everyone in the EA movement; most EAs heard about earning to give from someone else, just like you.
The way to counteract this may not be to take targeted action for underrepresented demographics; it might be better to just work on being friendlier overall. This strategy seems less likely to backfire and helps with recruiting in general. Friendly, diverse religious groups like evangelical christians could be seen as evidence that it works.
This does sound rather obnoxious. Especially considering that ideas like earning to give weren’t invented independently by everyone in the EA movement; most EAs heard about earning to give from someone else, just like you.
The way to counteract this may not be to take targeted action for underrepresented demographics; it might be better to just work on being friendlier overall. This strategy seems less likely to backfire and helps with recruiting in general. Friendly, diverse religious groups like evangelical christians could be seen as evidence that it works.