Let's Hear It For Bosses

There was a recent incident that has people in silicon valley concerned.  Julie Ann Horvath, a programmer at popular tech company GitHub, quit, complaining of harassment and intimidation.

This was a disappointment on a lot of levels. First, technology - among with all of geekdom - is having a great deal of difficulty dealing with the increasing number of women. Horvath had worked on a project to encourage women in technology.  And GitHub was thought to be a progressive company, with a flattened hierarchy and a fresh attitude.

But Wired then had an interesting alternate look at how that flattened hierarchy can work. We may think of such a set up as being inherently level and equal, but it may not work that way in principle. After all, another way to look at it is anarchic. If there is no imposed hierarchy, them an informal one will develop, and it may be fueled by some unpleasant things, from intimidation to stereotypical expectations as to who will be in charge.  In other words, there will always be a hierarchy, it's just a question of whether it will be held to some rules and standards.

The concept is a weird ideological mixture, so one way or another this situation will go against your hopes and expectations: the lack of regulation in the role-less workplace reflects poorly on libertarian principles. But at the same time, an equal workplace resembles the communist ideal, and add the article points out, communes have had all the same problems.

But it also casts doubt on radical feminism. That's the idea that the structures of society are inherently unfair, and gender equality can only be achieved by rebuilding them. But as difficult as it has been to achieve equality within the system, it seems that a lack of a system can make equality even harder to get.