Augusta National: Women Still Need Not Apply

Three years ago I wrote a blog about Augusta’s National Golf Club’s male-only membership policy. This topic unfortunately reared its ugly head again last week when Virginia Rometty was denied membership—at least for now. Augusta National is a vivid example of a good old boy network doing what it does best—exclude women. Only this time it’s different because Rometty isn’t just any other woman.

She is the first female CEO of IBM. Consider this: previous CEOs of IBM have all been offered membership to Augusta National and IBM is one of the top three sponsors of The Masters golf tournament played at the club. Many people therefore thought this was the year that the club would finally relax its male-only policy.

Perhaps it was the media that dashed our hopes. An intensely private club, Augusta National wants to do things on its terms. So what did the media do? They asked President Obama and presidential-candidate Mitt Romney their thoughts on the issue—thereby bringing it to TV news shows around the country. In the club’s attempt to show that nobody can tell them what to do, they did…nothing.

Whether it is Augusta National or some other male bastion, exclusion is harmful to businesswomen (and any other minority). Yes, my friends lecture me on the strong and growing Good Old Girls network but it’s not the same. We are not usually the power brokers in the business world—men are. The Good Old Boy Network is still the business in-group. Women need to rub elbows with the influencers in the workplace—usually men—as well as other women. Otherwise, we experience yet one more disadvantage and obstacle to success.

So come on, guys—give it a rest and let the CEO of the company that funds your tournament join your club. Don’t you think by rising to the top of a company like IBM that Virginia Rometty knows how to “play nice” with the boys?

By Erin Wolf