The comments to this article reaffirm the sexism she experienced. I suggest gentlemen that you read the other article that appears in the NYT titled "The Faces of American Power, Nearly as White as the Oscar Nominees." In addition to whiteness they are almost all men.
14
This is not a feminist story. Its just a story of Silicon Valley and an idea. Maybe not right time, right place or right idea. She is lucky to have a decent husbanad and a baby. Very lucky. And with time she will realize she has made the right choice. I promise you.
16
Good article, and confirms *everything* we know about pregnancy and mothers: when the child comes, it is priority number one. If those investors had put money into this pregnant woman's startup, they would have lost millions and millions of dollars. The stereotype is absolutely correct; political correctness be damned.
37
"In parenthood, too, there is a double standard. Mothers are penalized in pay and promotions because employers assume they will be less committed to work..."
Way to feature a personal narrative that shatters this noxious stereotype.
Way to feature a personal narrative that shatters this noxious stereotype.
23
Is it common for people of partial or even full Vietnamese descent to think of themselves as brown in terms of skin complexion?
34
Ego, a weak business plan, and bad judgement (leaving Instacart too early) leads to failure. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and it's not as easy it it appears to be to most.
49
We need Balance of Gender Power in America. Traditional male/female roles no longer apply. There are plenty of women who build great careers and do not want to give them up to the point of considering not having children. If they decide to have a child they may also decide to take a six-month leave then leave the child with their male partner who would prefer to be a house dad and, hopefully, husband who takes on the bulk of the home responsibility. Women have been expected to be the primary caregivers and that will change with Gender Balance of Power where women and men share power equally. Some women, like Ms. Miller, decide to stay home and care for their child and that's great. It's about women having the choice and men supporting the choice and participating fully.
9
Is "Balance of Gender Power in America" some sort of proposed legislative mandate or your personal hope for how things go? Traditional gender roles very much still apply when it comes to pregnancy but have shifted greatly when it comes to child care. The reality of parenting, however, versus the aspirational Balance of Gender Power in America [caps are clearly essential here] demonstrates that dear old mom can be very hard to replace. Dad can't breastfeed, for example. I could go on about how the reality of being a mom to a newborn can and really should eviscerate some notions about how there is no difference between a mom and a dad. There is.
16
The only diversity issue here is the wide range of excuses people use to mask their own shortcomings. A good idea doesn't care who has it, and every venture capitalist I've ever met (easily more than 100) is interested in one color only: green. So to suggest that your idea isn't getting a proper hearing or proper backing because white males lack the proper context is bull. You lack the proper idea. Invent the next Uber or WhatsApp and the investor world will welcome you regardless of color, gender, politics or education. Welcome to the level, but difficult, playing field.
39
Totally agree with the comment of "real" risk and entreprenuelism...from our great grandparents and/or those TRULY risking their birthplaces even if pregnant to come to America for a "better" life...not the entitled completely sheltered, fed, clothed millenials who as nice as some or many are, what TRULY is such risk for what is associated as men wjo are "pattern" seekers..likeminded-ness in a white man's world...it was a futile effort oin her part...clearly, she shows absolute signs of protectiveness, intimacy and humility to stay with her first born child...the dynamics are so different with men...irrespetive of their capacities and aptitude.
3
I am sorry. This woman could have been a multimillionaire at Instacart, but walked away from it. She was given a chance "even" if she was a woman. Instead she decides do a start-up, gets a guy fired because of a stupid comment, has an unplanned pregnancy, doesn't know how to pitch to VCs. Why and how am I supposed to feel empathy for this woman?
134
What a great article. Life is short, do what makes you happy. I still work, but I scaled back because my daughter is my world. The head of my department took 2 weeks for maternity leave (15 years ago) and has no regrets. She is a great leader and mentor. The more women show confidence in their decisions, whatever they are, the more truly successful they'll be!
20
I swear I clicked NYT in my bookmarks but somehow I ended up at The Onion. Her ultimate takeaway is that maybe pitching profitless ideas to VC firms isn't a "linear" path to success? You don't say. Speaking of pitches... I have one for the NYT's next profile in "risk taking". I'm going to Safeway tonight instead of Whole Foods, and I may even take the bus!
85
Be careful.
7
Rate my professor rates each professor on overall quality, rater's average grade, and, you guess it, hotness. We must request Universities to immediately to dismiss all those students who ranked the hotness of a professor.
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/
13
Ms. Miller seems to be the kind of person who is the exact opposite of someone who you'd want to be working at a startup or being a startup founder. So some nerd who is a new coworker at her company compliments her by telling her she is the hottest woman working there and she gets him fired. Then she after she can't get her startup off the ground, joins a new company and immediately takes 6 months of leave to take care of her new baby. How is this fair to the company that just hired her, thinking they were getting a new employee to their team? Most workers in Silicon Valley stay around 1-1.5 years at job.
49
Disappointed that this was the example chosen for a piece on start-ups. I think the NYT does not actually understand Silicon Valley. Too bad. Would be heloful to have some smart reporting on women and start-ups. But this piece misses 90% of what actually happens here.
53
what are these "physical needs and physical dependence on the baby" nonsense? I think she just want to use the baby to hide her weakness and failure. The baby is a convenient excuse.
30
I don't see where she risked anything. It looks like a case of following one's dream. She followed her dream to become a Harvard graduate. Something that very few people who try are able to achieve. She followed her dream to go to Vietnam and was successful starting a micro lending organization. I'm assuming she dreamed of marrying and starting a family because she succeeded at that too. All of her successes were the result of years of planning and hard work. She didn't lose her husband, child, house or car. She may not have succeeded in becoming a billionaire but it sounded like she chose another path to another success story not yet lived. She is way more successful than just about anyone else I've ever known and she still has a lot of life left to live.
33
Great Article. I have 3 daughters all of whom are moving into the tech, engineering, and business. It was a great article for what not to do. I'm glad that the abstract idea of being a mom changed to a real reality once the baby was born. Once Ms. Miller gets to a place where she's comfortable to go back to work if she wants, then she can attack her dreams with clear goals.
The tech industry is really no different than anything related to sales. The People/Investors with the money have to be sold on the idea/concept. That takes skills that sometimes take years to acquire. The seduction you've wrote about is littered throughout history. Gold Rush's, The Roaring 20's, Real Estate Booms, The next big thing drives people to go chase that dream. It sounds like she learned a hard lesson. She should have stayed at Instacart. It looks like the dream grabbed her too.
The tech industry is really no different than anything related to sales. The People/Investors with the money have to be sold on the idea/concept. That takes skills that sometimes take years to acquire. The seduction you've wrote about is littered throughout history. Gold Rush's, The Roaring 20's, Real Estate Booms, The next big thing drives people to go chase that dream. It sounds like she learned a hard lesson. She should have stayed at Instacart. It looks like the dream grabbed her too.
9
All big guns were once small firms only to start with but someone firmly believed and backed them outright financially. Once they become big guns they easily forget their past. This is what greed for more money and more power is all about.
It's not advisable for anyone to start any company without certain money on hand and also without some backup money. If we depend upon others for everything, we don't stand chance of getting investors just like that unless we are either influential or lucky ones.
We shouldn't count the chicken which is not in our hands, instead we should rely on whatever we have on hand. Blaming this fellow, that fellow or this bias or that bias simply doesn't help since it certainly exists and one simply has to cope with it.
To start with Mrs. Millar should have started her own company as a consultant based on her experience, knowledge, qualification and contacts so that she could have incurred very less expenditure by investing her brain. Later on she could have expanded further if needed after getting sufficient exposure as a consultant. My son is doing the same for the past three years in step by step fashion.
I wish best of luck to Mrs. Millar professionally and family wise. I find this article to be very very lengthy and as such couldn't read it completely. I pray that she should have easy and joyful delivery. May her child bring joy in her family.
I request Times to cut short such articles. Brevity and clarity is important.
It's not advisable for anyone to start any company without certain money on hand and also without some backup money. If we depend upon others for everything, we don't stand chance of getting investors just like that unless we are either influential or lucky ones.
We shouldn't count the chicken which is not in our hands, instead we should rely on whatever we have on hand. Blaming this fellow, that fellow or this bias or that bias simply doesn't help since it certainly exists and one simply has to cope with it.
To start with Mrs. Millar should have started her own company as a consultant based on her experience, knowledge, qualification and contacts so that she could have incurred very less expenditure by investing her brain. Later on she could have expanded further if needed after getting sufficient exposure as a consultant. My son is doing the same for the past three years in step by step fashion.
I wish best of luck to Mrs. Millar professionally and family wise. I find this article to be very very lengthy and as such couldn't read it completely. I pray that she should have easy and joyful delivery. May her child bring joy in her family.
I request Times to cut short such articles. Brevity and clarity is important.
7
Biology is more powerful than we want to accept. In keeping with the nurture vs nature theories of the '80s I never provided my sons with weapons and gave them dolls to nurture. Can you guess how that turned out? For most women having a child is an amazing and life changing event that few are willing to abandon after a month or two of maternity leave. Sadly, in our society very little support or recognition of this important biological need for both baby and mother is given. Just another bias promoting "men's work" over "women's work"!
21
Gosh no, those poor women just can't resist their biological fates as mothers and nurturers. And boys will be boys. No doubt your sons eviscerated those dolls and became warriors---all due to their chromosomes.
I guess my biology dictates laughing at absurd comments.
I guess my biology dictates laughing at absurd comments.
7
Sorry Henry, look around- even in progressive modern countries the vast majority of women choose to have children and still do the majority of child care regardless of education and income level. Yes, one can 'escape that fate' but most choose not to.
Women can be warriors too, but conflicts throughout the world have a decidedly male complexion. Why? Who knows for sure but the trend is universal.
Women can be warriors too, but conflicts throughout the world have a decidedly male complexion. Why? Who knows for sure but the trend is universal.
5
What a ridiculous profile. Agree with other commenters that it does a much better job of perpetuating stereotypes and cliches than it does at telling a compelling story - unplanned pregnancy being implicitly blamed as the obstacle to success, idea for which she'd "risk it all" becoming a "side project", and a commitment to a full time position with a stable company being renegotiated to something less at the last minute. And the discussion of specific clothing choices was so completely overdone. Make the point once and move on. If the goal was to emphasize the importance of mentoring and experience to naive women in business (and to show it still may not be enough) then mission accomplished. The end however was just icing on the cake - A New Perspective. The truth is that most working mothers keep their perspective (or just don't have the luxury of "a new perspective"). We work, we have partners who work, and we raise children. This story could have been so much more. Ms. Miller should be frustrated by the flighty, breezy way she was portrayed. I can't imagine this will do anything but hurt her reputation amongst potential investors, partners, and employees.
52
Women in the US need to take responsibility for their pregnancies. These days contraceptives are 100% reliable, and accidental pregnancies should not be a viable excuse.
Accidental pregnancies can also be mitigated through abortions. In the US there is much drama about that, but in Europe and Asia it's a common solution. And in California abortions are easy to get.
Unfortunately the storyline has different implications. If a woman cannot control her body and decisions, perhaps it is fair not to entrust her with millions of dollars.
Accidental pregnancies can also be mitigated through abortions. In the US there is much drama about that, but in Europe and Asia it's a common solution. And in California abortions are easy to get.
Unfortunately the storyline has different implications. If a woman cannot control her body and decisions, perhaps it is fair not to entrust her with millions of dollars.
14
Cannot control her body and decisions?! Remember, there's a husband involved in this pregnancy and it was a wanted child, just unplanned. Contraceptives are not 100% (trust me, I've got girlfriend moms who would disagree with you!). I'm 100% pro-choice, but your comment reads as sexist and preachy.
25
This article, and the actions of this woman, harmed her cause.
She was looking for money, while expecting a baby. Thus telling investors 'give me money, because I am going to be away for months raising a child'. Then she was surprised they did not feed her business.
It only makes the case even stronger for those investors in not investing on women lead companies. You hear from them 'why would I? you will disappear when you get pregnant', and this woman did just that.
Even better, she was hired and immediately went on a 6 month paid vacation.
Can you imagine a young lady applying for a job, only to be told 'sorry, we can't hire you because we're paying for this lady to raise her baby', how is that fair to new prospective employees? how does that set a good example for new ladies joining the workforce?
She was looking for money, while expecting a baby. Thus telling investors 'give me money, because I am going to be away for months raising a child'. Then she was surprised they did not feed her business.
It only makes the case even stronger for those investors in not investing on women lead companies. You hear from them 'why would I? you will disappear when you get pregnant', and this woman did just that.
Even better, she was hired and immediately went on a 6 month paid vacation.
Can you imagine a young lady applying for a job, only to be told 'sorry, we can't hire you because we're paying for this lady to raise her baby', how is that fair to new prospective employees? how does that set a good example for new ladies joining the workforce?
30
the problem with the pitch was pointed out… it wasn't monetized. It wasn't a pregnancy that doomed her fledgling startup. If you don't monetize, why would a VC invest.
11
(1) She got some guy fired over a silly comment - pretty clearly joking around.
What a dweeb she is - too sensitive for words.
The correct - and adult response - would have been toolook at him and say "oh really? Gotta tell you that I can't return the compliment - you would be dead last on my list of 'hot' guys" and then walk away.
Whining, sniveling and running to HR is so childish. Tells me she has no skills at managing people or unpleasant encounters.
And I was a labor lawyer back when women did not do hardcore labor law (unions pickets and strikes) which was considered the 'men's locker room of law."
(2) One of the dumbest business ideas I have ever heard. Companies don't care about being diverse to be politically correct - they care about making money. No company is gonna to pay to be on a website where they get negative comments made about them.
(3) And Kaleberg in the very first comment had it right. She blew off her career to play with the kid. That is why I never hired legal assistants of child-bearing age. They nearly always promised to come back after the baby and then succumbed to momitis and left us high and dry. Nothing has changed in nearly 40 years.
The investors would have just loved it if she had pulled that stunt after they had anted up a few million for her new company.
What a dweeb she is - too sensitive for words.
The correct - and adult response - would have been toolook at him and say "oh really? Gotta tell you that I can't return the compliment - you would be dead last on my list of 'hot' guys" and then walk away.
Whining, sniveling and running to HR is so childish. Tells me she has no skills at managing people or unpleasant encounters.
And I was a labor lawyer back when women did not do hardcore labor law (unions pickets and strikes) which was considered the 'men's locker room of law."
(2) One of the dumbest business ideas I have ever heard. Companies don't care about being diverse to be politically correct - they care about making money. No company is gonna to pay to be on a website where they get negative comments made about them.
(3) And Kaleberg in the very first comment had it right. She blew off her career to play with the kid. That is why I never hired legal assistants of child-bearing age. They nearly always promised to come back after the baby and then succumbed to momitis and left us high and dry. Nothing has changed in nearly 40 years.
The investors would have just loved it if she had pulled that stunt after they had anted up a few million for her new company.
51
AnnS--past abuse is hard for anyone to get over, but you too can benefit from therapy. Give it a shot.
14
I would agree with point 2. She did not Monetize. Why would anyone invest?
However, I think comment 3 is not needed. It takes away from a strong 2nd point.
However, I think comment 3 is not needed. It takes away from a strong 2nd point.
9
On a related note, anyone take a look at the average VC firm? Mostly white males with a smattering of a few Asian, South Asian and Israeli (mainly) men.
5
I love Silicon Valley's idea of what it means to "risk it all". If the venture doesn't work out, you'll only have your Harvard degree to fall back on.
39
Exactly. Risk it all? Please. It's not like they mortgaged the house.
14
While Ms. Miller may be as smart as a new coat of paint, her intelligence appears to be applied situationally. Point being, there are some highly effective and readily available ways to avoid becoming "a pregnant brown woman".
14
How is this even a story? This just perpetuates the type of many current Silicon Valley inhabitants - self absorbed, narcissistic, etc. There is absolutely nothing of importance being done by any of these companies in this article. Real engineers should be embarrassed to be associated with many SV companies. (Few terms are as misused as "engineer", but that's for another discussion.)
Btw, there are many women who have made significant advances in computer science - the two that immediately come to mind are Grace Hopper and Frances Allen. The NYT interview with Allen from 2002: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/science/scientist-work-frances-allen-w...
Btw, there are many women who have made significant advances in computer science - the two that immediately come to mind are Grace Hopper and Frances Allen. The NYT interview with Allen from 2002: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/science/scientist-work-frances-allen-w...
27
Urg. I loved this article until the end. Let's reinforce the stereotype not to invest in women because they will have babies.
27
I asked a very successful woman, a graduate from my department, if entrepreneurship could be taught.
She is regularly invited by my University , that has a program to teach entrepreneurship , as a role model and as a speaker .
"Not really" she said. "You have to be willing to lose it all"
If you, after year of living off savings, as Ms. Miller get an unfamiliar feeling: the desire for stability, then you have never been cut out for entrepreneurship.
She is regularly invited by my University , that has a program to teach entrepreneurship , as a role model and as a speaker .
"Not really" she said. "You have to be willing to lose it all"
If you, after year of living off savings, as Ms. Miller get an unfamiliar feeling: the desire for stability, then you have never been cut out for entrepreneurship.
16
Er, no one cares. Laughable nonsense as is almost all NYTime reporting from the software industry.
33
Some of this stuff is just total nonsense. You have people who have ZERO sales and ZERO profits and suddenly they think they are magic and people should throw millions of dollars at them. Go home!
It's called proof of concept. Is anybody interested? Does it actually work? Are you actually making profits at a good return?
You can have a great education. It doesn't mean you know what you are doing.
As I said before. Go home!!
It's called proof of concept. Is anybody interested? Does it actually work? Are you actually making profits at a good return?
You can have a great education. It doesn't mean you know what you are doing.
As I said before. Go home!!
28
I'm not clear that Ms Miller thinks she risked it all, but the Times writer apparently does, and I can;t understand why. Because she left a cushy job and went entrepreneur and lost some or most of her savings---At the age of 34? Wow, if that's the definition of "really risking it all", then shame on you. -Risking it all is what so many of our grandparents and great great ... grandparents who fled their birthland, sometimes pregant and leaving most everythning behind to try for a better life- a truly heroic trek that is being repeated often under more terrible circumastances by refugees round the world. Talk about the entitlement ideology of the new entrepreneurism.
133
Why did she want to have a child when she is so self absorbed with her career? I would have the same comment for a man or woman. Raising a child is a serious responsibility, and the joy of starting one's own family never came out in this piece. I hope they give that poor child a chance
27
Read the article... the baby was unplanned.
2
Having read the NYT for decades I have learned infinitely more about the lives and struggles of elite women than typical women. Let's get real here. For most Times readers life should be about giving a leg up to those less fortunate than ourselves, and that starts with caring to understand who they are.
54
Elite women get the general lifestyle people articles, we get to read about other women as the recipients of "neediest cases" fund.
8
"How high can I stack the cards against myself - a pregnant brown woman?"
Ms. Miller is really reaching here. She looks tanned like nearly everyone else in California. No one would know she is part Asian unless she said so. I wonder how offended she truly was by being called the hottest woman at the office.
I would have preferred the story focus on serious people such as Ms. Hu or Mr. Shen instead of this Kardashian-type woman.
Ms. Miller is really reaching here. She looks tanned like nearly everyone else in California. No one would know she is part Asian unless she said so. I wonder how offended she truly was by being called the hottest woman at the office.
I would have preferred the story focus on serious people such as Ms. Hu or Mr. Shen instead of this Kardashian-type woman.
80
judgmental much? Last I checked, none of the kardashian's graduated from harvard or started a microfinance Non profit that employed 92 people. Wow! This is half the problem. All the snark about this woman who has boldly talked about herself, and her lack of success only to be snarked on by the esteemed readers of the NYT.
3
She could have stacked the cards even higher by going to Yale instead of Harvard.
9
Since when does a woman being attractive mean that she must therefore not be allowed to protest sexist culture? Are you trying to argue that it is okay for an unattractive woman to complain about sexism, but not this one because she happens to have the wrong combo of genes? This is exactly the kind of sexism that is pervasive in the workplace that she is trying to address with Doxa.
9
Well yeah, she was naïve.
But you know what's really risky? Being a lower-middle-class worker who hopes to raise a family. Getting pregnant, intending to return to work after maternity leave and praying one's child will be healthy so that one can manage on the minimum amount of personal days, vacation etc. as that child grows.
I find it tiresome to keep reading about all these highly-educated young women, married to highly-educated young men, already working for great companies at an excellent salary and benefits level, and thinking they're sticking their fashionable little necks out.
The rest of us also have physical and emotional needs, as do our children, and it kills us not to be able to indulge those at a minimally human level.
But you know what's really risky? Being a lower-middle-class worker who hopes to raise a family. Getting pregnant, intending to return to work after maternity leave and praying one's child will be healthy so that one can manage on the minimum amount of personal days, vacation etc. as that child grows.
I find it tiresome to keep reading about all these highly-educated young women, married to highly-educated young men, already working for great companies at an excellent salary and benefits level, and thinking they're sticking their fashionable little necks out.
The rest of us also have physical and emotional needs, as do our children, and it kills us not to be able to indulge those at a minimally human level.
169
Sure, it is also risky to be in the position you outline, but I don't see how it follows that therefore this story isn't worth sharing. There is no zero sum game with respect to the experiences of women in the workplace; sure, this woman's life is very different than what you detail, but that doesn't mean her experience is worthless. It doesn't mean that her struggles with the balance between parenting and ambition are a waste of time to think about.
6
what a smarmy article. I'd rather read about the trials and tribulations of being a milk man (or woman) in an age when they are almost extinct. Silicon Valley is a bubble that can't pop too soon as fas as I'm concerned.
53
Congratulations to Nathalie and her husband on the upcoming birth of their baby! But I am frequently perplexed by how seemingly intelligent people become pregnant unexpectedly when there are so many methods of reliable birth control. Nothing is guaranteed to prevent pregnancy except abstinence, but it astounds me how so many pregnancies seem to be unplanned.
39
So Ms. Miller gets a fellow employee fired, and within a day, because he dared to report to her that he had done a survey, and she was the "hottest" employee of the company? And then it is reported that she was "satisfied" with that outcome (as if to imply that even more extreme measures might have been taken -- what those even have been, since, say, torture isn't actually legal?).
And then this Harvard educated diversity case creates a startup whose entire purpose is the furthering of her victimization agenda?
Why can't "diversity" cases in SIlicon Valley ever seem to manage to do something constructive, rather than destructive? I'd bet that the tech worker she had fired was more productive than she, given her own retreat into "diversity" for her own business. Why do we virtually never hear of these "diversity" cases coming up with some idea that takes over the world just because it's so compelling? Why, instead, do these characters always seem to fizzle and fade when those ideas hit reality -- Elizabeth Holmes, anyone?
And then this Harvard educated diversity case creates a startup whose entire purpose is the furthering of her victimization agenda?
Why can't "diversity" cases in SIlicon Valley ever seem to manage to do something constructive, rather than destructive? I'd bet that the tech worker she had fired was more productive than she, given her own retreat into "diversity" for her own business. Why do we virtually never hear of these "diversity" cases coming up with some idea that takes over the world just because it's so compelling? Why, instead, do these characters always seem to fizzle and fade when those ideas hit reality -- Elizabeth Holmes, anyone?
38
I think your reply says a lot more about you than it does Ms. Miller. Tolerating bigotry is easier for some, especially those not on the receiving end of things.
23
Shining the spotlight on attitudes and biases such as yours, especially when they become policy and institutionalized, is most constructive.
You clearly read past the EMPIRICAL data on the make up of Silicon Valley. Remember the stats: venture capital 1% Black, 8% women, employees: 5% Latino, 4% black. That's not because there are unqualified hires. It's in great part because attitudes like your's weave a wall of insularity, and protect the position of privilege by painting a distorted caricature of 'the lesser other'.
Penetrating such obstruction is a constructive undertaking, of the highest order, that lifts the character of our society.
You clearly read past the EMPIRICAL data on the make up of Silicon Valley. Remember the stats: venture capital 1% Black, 8% women, employees: 5% Latino, 4% black. That's not because there are unqualified hires. It's in great part because attitudes like your's weave a wall of insularity, and protect the position of privilege by painting a distorted caricature of 'the lesser other'.
Penetrating such obstruction is a constructive undertaking, of the highest order, that lifts the character of our society.
11
I am not reading stories like this anymore. The message has been loud and clear for years: men in tech are horrible, and nothing will change until we force them to change, with enforced hiring and investing quotas, enforced labor regs, steep penalties, etc. They'll howl some sort of garbage about competitiveness and be wrong; their howling, however rational they might like to paint it, is no different than plantation owners.
No interest whatsoever in more stories of women trying to fit into their garbage world.. Needs reform sorely from outside.
No interest whatsoever in more stories of women trying to fit into their garbage world.. Needs reform sorely from outside.
11
This is a great topic. There's nothing better than a good difficult struggle for anyone, as overcoming against the odds is the American dream.
Ms. Miller is now wiser, and will likely make great contributions in the years ahead. These experiences are part of life, and are to be valued. For now, though, the experience of the baby is also to be treasured as a part of life. Valuing women in the work place does not mean treating them exactly as men all the time. For example, more and more women entering medicine have definitely transformed it for the better over the past 40 years.
Ms. Miller is now wiser, and will likely make great contributions in the years ahead. These experiences are part of life, and are to be valued. For now, though, the experience of the baby is also to be treasured as a part of life. Valuing women in the work place does not mean treating them exactly as men all the time. For example, more and more women entering medicine have definitely transformed it for the better over the past 40 years.
11
In 1991, I graduated from Washington University in Finance. I was hungry and had something to prove. At 34, a successful career with three babies under 3 reality set in. Who was going to raise these cookie monsters, the Russian nanny? the Physician husband? or the mom. I quit cold turkey. As a semi bored 46 year old mother of three teenagers, there is no going back. I am not hungry and I have nothing to prove. I have attended too many funerals to fight that fight.
90
Your post really sums up life in one nice paragraph and all true. Great post.
8
I wish Nathalie Miller the best of luck and to be persistent and never give up. But the action she took which led to the firing of the nitwit who ranked the hotest women in the firm shows a crack in her leadership abilities. What a great opportunity to speak one on one with the fellow and get through to him why what he did was offensive and how it would normally lead to his dismissal. Instead, she probably help create an angry young man who will surely be looking for future opportunities to get back at women.
71
I totally agree. Firing was overkill. He should have received a dressing down from HR and told to stop being a knucklehead. However, I have seen men get fired for even more trivial reasons such as an innocent off the cuff joke or comment. The feminists wonder why many men are paranoid about working with them.
15
Speaking as a guy who worked 23+ years in the valley, I was gratified that the guy got fired.
Morons like that seldom "get it," and need to get weeded out and made an example of ASAP. He'd have likely walked away from a one-on-one thinking, "Whew. . dodged that bullet," and then gone back to the mindset that he'd had since his Frat days.
Morons like that seldom "get it," and need to get weeded out and made an example of ASAP. He'd have likely walked away from a one-on-one thinking, "Whew. . dodged that bullet," and then gone back to the mindset that he'd had since his Frat days.
50
It wasn't her responsibility to have a heart felt discussion with the nitwit. Fixing a bigot doesn't fall to the person on the receiving end of the bigotry. In this case the nitwit's employer decided that they didn't want that kind of behavior in the office -- that's certainly their right.
15
Nice article, but he headline is misleading. She really wasn't risking it all by any stretch. Her husband seemingly had a good job, so she had income coming in, and she's only 34 years old. As a single founder in my 50's without a back-up plan (yikes), me and my cohorts are risking much more.
71
Diversity is code for "Let's get rid of the males and replace them all with females." Everyone knows that by now on both sides of the issue.
23
Thank you for being the poster child for studies demonstrating that men freak out and decide women have taken over and are trying to destroy them as soon as women are noticeable around a conference table.
21
As someone who has lived in this world for many years, I tire of hearing about the the risks. For most, the risk is that they will waste a year trying to develop an inane idea for a company and fail to get funded. After which they remain free to try again or get a highly paid job at another company.
Those that succeed in getting funded get a quite reasonable salary to gamble with other people's money.
Those that succeed in selling the company retire quite comfortably, or even become hugely wealthy for a few years of work.
Lets be honest. Silicon Valley is a smoke machine, a fiction, designed to give investors a seemingly foolproof method of printing money. Actual innovation is broadly discouraged.
Where else in life can you get those kind of odds with no skills or talent?
Those that succeed in getting funded get a quite reasonable salary to gamble with other people's money.
Those that succeed in selling the company retire quite comfortably, or even become hugely wealthy for a few years of work.
Lets be honest. Silicon Valley is a smoke machine, a fiction, designed to give investors a seemingly foolproof method of printing money. Actual innovation is broadly discouraged.
Where else in life can you get those kind of odds with no skills or talent?
56
Success is exceptional. Today too many young people think it is there right to come up with a simple and obvious idea and get someone else to give them millions to try to make it work.
Venture capital used to be even more rare. You used to have had to have a business already going and working and earning profit before VC was interested.
Today there are too many silly ideas and too much money out there.
A lot of young people are going to be very depressed and disappointed to find out they cannot be Mark Zuckerberg.
Many of these wannabees can even code. They try to find a coder to partner with and then feel they are entitled to millions of dollars because their idea is sooo brilliant.
All the kids rushing to Silicon Valley will find that their career will go nowhere because fewer and fewer businesses are working today.
The low hanging fruit and the easy times are over.
In the next year or two there will be thousands of failures and few to any winners.
There has not been a big winner in 5 years and not a really big winner for ten years.
VC's themselves will start to go out of business as there is little to invest in.
The latest fads like VR will prove worthless and hype.
Venture capital used to be even more rare. You used to have had to have a business already going and working and earning profit before VC was interested.
Today there are too many silly ideas and too much money out there.
A lot of young people are going to be very depressed and disappointed to find out they cannot be Mark Zuckerberg.
Many of these wannabees can even code. They try to find a coder to partner with and then feel they are entitled to millions of dollars because their idea is sooo brilliant.
All the kids rushing to Silicon Valley will find that their career will go nowhere because fewer and fewer businesses are working today.
The low hanging fruit and the easy times are over.
In the next year or two there will be thousands of failures and few to any winners.
There has not been a big winner in 5 years and not a really big winner for ten years.
VC's themselves will start to go out of business as there is little to invest in.
The latest fads like VR will prove worthless and hype.
24
historically 9 out of 10 new businesses fail
6
My God, this hits every anti-feminist cliche in the books. A woman comes up with a weak idea for a business that would "address diversity" in tech, gets pregnant by accident, and then decides to leave work to focus on her baby. This profile could set back women entrepreneurs by decades.
160
agree. This was a terrible business idea.
29
Get a grip. Women get pregnant and their heads don't fall off. The things that needs changing are labor and investment regs that make pregnancy punishable by being forced out of work and entrepreneurism.
Let go of 1985, you'll like yourself better. You can leave the floppy bow tie back there too. You don't have to be an adorable pretend man to start and run a successful business.
Let go of 1985, you'll like yourself better. You can leave the floppy bow tie back there too. You don't have to be an adorable pretend man to start and run a successful business.
11
As to "risking it all," I'm sorry but she didn't risk anything. Perhaps the Times failed to mention that they took a second mortgage out.