Toxic Masculinity and the OpenAI Saga

*An earlier version of this article was published in Fast Company.

We have all been watching the high velocity turmoil over the future of OpenAI, but I was much more interested in what the events said about women and leadership.

I was at the Boston Federal Reserve’s Economic Conference on Full Employment, having given my this-isn’t-your-grandmother’s-economy speech highlighting how traditional economic models no longer fully explain women’s work, when my phone lit up with the latest Silicon Valley palace intrigue. It was only last Friday, but it seems oh so long ago now.

The company OpenAI, mostly known for its development of ChatGPT, had fired its leader, Sam Altman, through a Board vote of no confidence (not usually seen in 501(c)(3) nonprofits). A blog from the company claimed communication issues as the reason for this unexpected ouster, perhaps driven by differences in the ultimate goals for embracing an AGI strategy.

The tech world gossip mill did a tailspin, thirsting for more details from one of the world’s leading innovative tech companies spearheading the development of “safe AGI that benefits all of humanity.”

Axing the company’s 38-year-old leader and demoting the Board chair Greg Brockman to president led to the resignation of Brockman and at least three other…