You can also send a "white, attractive male" to the VC interview, and be a ghostwriter of the startup.
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.
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...
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.
You would be supporting and perpetuating such a structure.