The bigger problem with pg's statement is not the 13 year old girl claim. It's that he fully blames them and middle school curriculum while giving YC, PyCon and the startup industry a pass. His stance is we already have an open door and are self-selected, so the problem must be up the line.
You're right, he dodged the question of whether we need to be more proactive, not just open.
So perhaps our industry could make a greater effort to spotlight and support our very best examples of female hackers, and put them in closer touch with 13 year old girls. And to dial down the bro-iness of events and startup office cultures.
Those are examples of being proactive that have nothing to do with lowering standards. Pointing fingers elsewhere in the system is not that different from defending the status quo, because it's an interdependent system.
I also want to point out on the lowering standards front, I'm a female hacker who's been coding since age 6, and I was rejected from YC. I'm actually proud of that fact in the light of this discussion. I'd hate the whole foundation of my startup to be the source of such rabid debate, and for folks to think I just got in because I'm a unicorn and we need more unicorns in tech.
Are those boys to blame for their decision? If not, why are you campaigning to only push money in the direction of girls?
And I'm not campaigning to push money in any direction. That's a separate issue.
I agree that it's not obviously a bad thing if all these people who didn't become hackers (female or male) became something else that is socially valuable and makes them happy. But I'm also willing to consider the possibility that some women would have been happier and contributed more to society if they had become hackers, but didn't because they felt out of place or unwelcome when they tried to. And that if that's the case, then I'm at least willing to consider that maybe we as a society should do something about it.
