Normally I'd side with the refused entry person but sorry, not everywhere is designed for toddlers, theres this culture esp in London with parents bringing their kids absolutely everywhere. I don't understand why you'd being a baby to a tech convention?
by tylerthe-theatre
34 comments
Is entrepreneur a business slang for jobless ?
Bringing children of any age to a work environment seems unprofessional and disruptive.
I also don’t understand why they wouldn’t make arrangements – especially for something as big and important as ‘meeting suppliers for her new AI tech startup’.
I would be absolutely baffled if anyone brought their baby, child, or anyone un-related to the event or meeting to said event or meeting.
Especially trying to navigate around a conference hall with a baby in a pram – and it being an event unprepared in any way for children to be at. There may even be insurance issues.
Not seeing an issue here.
If the organisers haven’t gone through and checked the venue is safe for toddlers then they shouldn’t allow them in.
What if they did allow the toddler in and the toddler had a nasty accident…?
Maybe she couldn’t get childcare.
It wasn’t a toddler running around, it was an 8 month year old, who presumably was going to sit in a pushchair for most of the time.
They should have just made an exception.
They are not insured for babies..I don’t get the outrage. Why did she travel 3hrs with a baby? Did she not even check they had baby facilities first?
> theres this culture esp in London with parents bringing their kids absolutely everywhere. I don’t understand why you’d being a baby to a tech convention?
Not everyone has childcare.
I hate the way the article is trying to frame this as misogyny. It is at best a unisex issue that professional environments don’t make provisions for children but really the issue is the idiot who brought their child to a business event without checking first.
These shows should be providing childcare facilities so working parents don’t have to miss out.
I’m presuming she did this for social media clout
Wow didn’t expect the comments to be so negative towards babies. The reality is that some mums really are expected to do it all, work and take care of the baby. Child care is expensive and not everyone has help.
we complain when we see a rage bait article about a mum raking it in on benefits, we also complain when we see a mum try to work with the situation she is in.
You shouldn’t be cut off from opportunities just because you have a baby. If this event can cater for disabilities and wheelchair users, surely they can cater to a few mums with babies.
Not sure I see the issue to have a baby in a pram if it’s a glorified convention with stalls and people walking around. Round a table in a serious business environment is one thing but a noisy busy convention floor? Whatever
It’s pretty funny reading the comments from people with corporate jobs. Startups don’t care about rules that much, and they care about appearances in a very different way to your 500+/10k+ staff co. This would absolutely be accommodated in startup culture in the UK, because as a startup you will (and should) have much more important problems to focus on than whether the CEO/CTO standing in front of you has a baby with her. I’d find it amusing if she breastfed it in a meeting with me but tbh if she can still lay out what she wants sharply and succintly, or wants to negotiate API rate limits, pricing, etc for an AI model or some vis work… more power to her. My job is to make fast, maintainable things happen for her startup in exchange for money her investors have trusted her with. How is the baby a problem? Even if it were screaming we’re not gonna be having a 2h technical architecture discussion at the expo – our 10 min interaction will turn into 15 min, no big deal.
The problem that some participants in the scene would find with this situation is that the expo isn’t representing this mentality. That’s not great, since it’s supposed to be an expo for them!
She wasn’t absolutely humiliated. She was shown that common sense determination does not allow a screaming sprog to spoil an event for adults. She was merely confused, having previously believed that having birthed the organism, everyone else should be as inconvenienced by it as she is.
Can we stop doing the whole “humiliated” thing. As if the organisers humiliated her? She humiliated herself by doing an entitled, obviously selfish and stupid thing. I appreciate that it is difficult to raise a child but there are good practical and legal reasons that you can’t take babies everywhere you like.
I have a start up and have brought kids to expos before. It’s fine. In fact expos have been really accommodating especially when I have a speaking place such as covering travel for my kid. The only time I haven’t been able to bring my kid was when the venue had a strict no under 16s and nobody pregnant due to some demonstrations they were doing with chemicals.
I would also say that business owner culture is different to employee culture and there is different expectations to behaviour. I often have open invites to bring my child, it would never happen as an employee.
Its an expo, its not really much different than her bringing a child to a supermarket.
Its not like she was bringing a child to a board meeting or expecting a play area
Some of the comments here are a bit 1960s
So the news here is London Tech Week is incompetent to the point that they can’t handle a child in a buggy, unlike every other place in the country.
I am a woman. I work in tech, but I don’t have a child. So I don’t have a lot of skin in this particular argument…but…
I have been to that event space lots of times and there are often children there? For example, homewear shows, food shows, etc. They literally host a baby show there!
Why it wouldn’t be suitable for a child because of it being set up as a tech expo but would be for a homewear expo is confusing to me…
I do agree with much of the other posters here though that if she’s attending to network, mingle and showcase her product, bringing her baby isn’t really ideal as it will be a huge drain on her time and energy and mean she isn’t focusing on the task in hand.
I am an aunt to two and know VERY well how taxing they can be!
The comments in Linkedin is the total opposite here. I’ve only seen comments there on her side. That’s LinkedIn for ya
I tried to bring my dog there and I got refused entry
Londoners think they’re living in a new Rome but it’s actually pretty backward that events of this size basically exclude anyone that has to care for children.
Tech bros bitch and moan about the birth rate and how nobody will go out with them but then can’t ensure child friendly planning of conventions.
As another commenter said, in Nordic countries this is an assumption. You can at least try to be empathetic about why someone might assume that a child you have to care for can be allowed to enter with you.
It’s the 21st century but people act as if everyone has a live in nanny to take care of the little ones. But then again why do I waste my breath, this is the country that gave us Oliver Twist and David Copperfield
Something doesn’t add up here.
I’ve been to a bunch of tech expos at that exact location where the odd baby has been in a stroller or baby carrier, maybe even this exact even a few years ago?
I would think that if she can’t handle organizing childcare so she can concentrate on business, I’m not going to trust her with my money.
You know it’s fine to have things where babies can’t enter and fine to have them there in others. But damn some of the comments here are so cringe. People really have this hatred for children and the women with them.
I wonder if they also complain about immigrants who come and fill job roles because birth rate is so low, or fail to integrate with people like themselves who have such disdain for children of all things.
They knew full well they will be refused entry.
They got what they wanted. Attention.
This grifting culture sucks man.
Such a nothingburger of a story, “Assumptions are the mother of all fuck ups”, a simple mail/call ahead would have nipped this in the bud from the very start.
Good. Get a sitter. Not everywhere is designed for your kid.
Budding entrepreneur failed to plan ahead.
Judging by the way most AI business run, it’s probably a boon more than a hinderance.
“Humiliated” haha give me a break
She brought a baby to where she “planned to meet potential suppliers for her new start-up AI company.” Doesn’t seem like she planned anything at all.
As per the FAQ
https://londontechweek.com/frequently-asked-questions
> Restrictions of Entry
> The minimum age for entry is 16 years old. Anyone under the age of 18 should be accompanied by a guardian/teacher/lecturer. Proof of age may be required. **The Informa reserves the right at any time, without liability, to restrict entry to anyone below the age of 16 years old.**
Now maybe they shouldn’t exercise this right, but it’s not surprising if they do.
—
Amusing bonus FAQ:
> What is the campus venue for London Tech Week?
> ADD CONTENT
I think you should be able to bring a baby to absolutely anywhere… provided it’s anywhere that has the facilities to cater for babies. I don’t think a tech expo needs to meet that requirement and for the safety and security of the baby and their own insurance I think that’s ok.
Speaking as a former baby, this would have been boring af anyway.
This is why a community and family is importatn cos why is it hard to just dropped it with a sibling or in laws or parents ffs I don’t get it
And now she’s advertising to suppliers and partners that her startup is unable to plan and research, and will go to the press if they feel wronged.
*clap clap clap*
Might as well go around with a warning sign.
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