I was turned down for a job at a tech startup because I'm male

In complete ignorance of exactly what qualities the company was selecting for in finding the best fit, he simply assumes that his claim to superior qualifications means some manner of reverse sexism was at play. He can claim all the liberal credentials he wants, but it's difficult not to read this as a minor tantrum... Even assuming his claim to superior qualifications (and that's quite the claim to make without access to another individuals resume and academic results, etc) this whole article reads like the misdirected frustrations of a wounded ego.

For one thing it's a dumbass approach to human resources to favour only those candidates who possess superior qualifications, and its one that I'm pretty sure has generally lost its currency. Any enterprise with a vacancy is not only looking for a puzzle piece who's competent to perform the designated tasks of a role, but someone who fits in the culture of the company, and there are always candidates who's work history and experience shines for reasons besides formal qualifications.

I just find this whole article objectionable. That a company has made a public commitment to diversity doesn't mean that the author and his friend failed to be interviewed because of their penises. Clearly they both have high opinions of themselves, but claiming discrimination just because a woman got the job and some vague notion that the hiring company "endorsed" a youtube video (really what?), well it smacks of pettiness and a complete ignorance of the thinking that goes into hiring decisions.

No matter the heights of the authors disbelief or his wounded pride in not even being interviewed, hiring the right person can be a dark art and just because it escapes this writers comprehension that a particular woman was favoured over him, is no kind of argument that discrimination was at play.

Besides, it was probably nepotism.

2. No company interviews everyone that ever sends a resume in. If they did, they'd never get any work done. Remember, the goal of a company is not to interview people, but to produce a product or service. Continuing to interview once they've identified candidates to their liking is a waste of time.

3. The entitlement in this article is just...ridiculous. He assumes that because he has a good resume he's owed an interview. Again the world doesn't work like that.

4. He says her accomplishments aren't as impressive, but that's largely subjective.

5. He then goes on to say this: >Don’t discriminate against qualified male candidates just to boost your female numbers.

Do what I do instead.

Teach your daughter to love computers. When she grows up and can program circles around me, I’m sure the market will reward her.<

Why does she need to program circles around him to be rewarded by the market? Up-article he basically admits to not being the best programmer himself, but expects future women to be super programmers just to get a spot at some startup. Why can't women have the freedom to be average like so many men are given? I mean, aren't we the industry that's constantly lamenting the number of bad programmers, most of whom are male?

6. I've interviewed and recommended for hiring tons of engineers for my company over that last 5 years. And one thing I can tell you is that the relative superiority of one's resume does not guarantee that a good employee. I've interviewed people with Masters degrees, CS and Eng degrees, no degrees, you name it. And the one thing that I see is that the truth is in the interview; I'm not impressed by where someone went to school, how many degrees they have, or which prestigious company they worked for in the past.

This guys needs to just suck it up and realize that as men we have huge advantages in the tech marketplace wrt to employment, and also accept the fact that he has no idea whether or not the woman that was hired was truly a better candidate than he. Sheesh...next he'll be complaining that he can't get hired at Hooters....

Why does it matter if you were discriminated against for being male?

If you were, that's an extremely rare occurrence. White cisgendered males in the tech world do not lack for job opportunities.

There are plenty of reasons to choose a less qualified candidate that don't involve gender discrimination. Price. Nepotism. Change in spec.

You're obviously upset about this, so I know this won't be music to your ears, but without more evidence this seems like conjecture.

Considering how much discrimination and harassment women have faced in the tech industry over the years I think there should be a reasonably high bar before we start letting conjecture put a brake on progress.