Which is awful! A founder should not have to send a "white, attractive male" because she is female and investors refuse to take her seriously. The culture clearly needs to change.

There's a school of thought that says the founders' job is to figure out how to win, not confine themselves to "what ought to be", but rather win with what is.

It may be philosophically objectionable and morally frustrating, but if it's the current reality, you can work with that and increase your chance of succeeding or focus primarily on working against it, rather than on your business.

Completely agree that it should change to be gender blind, of course.

It is totally awful! But it's also the reality (that doesn't make it ok).

I thought the same thing - just pay someone to be the face. I don't think it is all that different to a celebrity endorsement...

If you think you can fight prejudice... think again.

Most of the 20th Century was an ongoing war against prejudice in one form or another, with prejudice constantly losing ground.

  You can also send a "white, attractive male"

Make that "attractive person". Discrimination of unattractive people is far more common than both racism and sexism.

Source: Unattractive brown guy.

Isn't that one of the point behind the "white male privilege" argument.. that one gets ahead just because they belong to a group..

You would be supporting and perpetuating such a structure.

Is this a joke?

Pretty sure that's fraud.