I was asked to leave an event for women founders because of my child

I’m extremely passionate about the company because it solves a long-standing problem: most scientific research is based on information from US students, while the other 95% of the global population is ignored. This leads to some serious research flaws that my co-founders and I hope to address.

I brought my baby to an accelerator when he was 3 weeks old

With personal and professional support, I kept my career on track even as we raised our family. When I was eight months pregnant, I discovered that Besample had been accepted to Techstars, a three-month accelerator, in person. My husband said he could take care of the three older children while I take the baby.

So I showed up with my son Darwin when he was just three weeks old. Techstars has been nothing but supportive. They asked me if I needed space to babysit Darwin or put him down for a nap. During the demo night, which comes at the end of the accelerator, they celebrated Darwin as the youngest Techstars resident ever.

Through Techstars I received tickets to Y Combinator’s Women Founders Conference. Y Combinator is a big deal in the startup world, and I was eager to be inspired by other female founders. I posted that I thought it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and wondered in the same post if Darwin would make friends. I expected babies to be not only welcomed but celebrated.

This was not the case for me.

I was asked to leave during a discussion about growing a company while having a child

Right away, I didn’t notice any other kids. Next, I listened to Tracy Young, a mom and founder, talk about her experience as a mom while starting a business. She discussed pumping before investment meetings and other very physical, biological challenges of being a founder with a child.

Darwin was in a pram and I was rocking him back and forth to sleep. When he started babbling and fumbling, I moved to the back of the room. Then someone came up to me and said, “Would you like to walk your child outside? I want people to get the full experience out of this conference.”

I found out later that he was one of the Y Combinator partners.

There is a tension in business about whether there is room for families

I’m not naming this woman because I think the problem is bigger than me or her. It’s about this tension in the business world right now. For many people, including myself, the pandemic has shown that it is possible to be a hands-on mother and a hands-on business partner. Others want to maintain the status quo between business and babies as completely separate.

To me, this is ridiculous. Being asked to leave with a baby who was quietly catching a cold during a talk that was explicitly about the challenges of being a mother and founder was shocking. I realized then that the monster of systemic barriers for mom entrepreneurs is bigger than I ever realized.

I would like to see significant changes for founders who are mothers

I received a private email of apology from the woman who confronted me, but I haven’t heard anything from Y Combinator. To me, that shows how exclusive the incubator is. They make token gestures like holding a conference of women founders, but don’t follow through with meaningful support for mothers.

I’m not asking for much. Just don’t ask me to leave. Trust me I’d get out if my kid was bothering someone.

If you really want to make a difference for parents, offer on-site childcare. Change the narrative that tells us children are a distraction. Instead, let’s see them for what they are: the next generation that will take care of us when we’re older.

Imagine future innovators playing together at the Y Combinator nursery. This would be the kind of meaningful change that would make a real difference to women entrepreneurs.

Editor’s note: Y Combinator did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.