There, It's Off My Chest

During a family dinner this past weekend at a favorite local steakhouse, I asked why I had never seen a woman server. “Because we want to be like an exclusive club,” I was told. Apparently the establishment does not hire women! The reasoning is that “men like to come to dinner together without the wife’s worrying” they’ll be cozying up to women who work there. (A similar argument has been used to keep women from working on Navy submarines.) Besides, the maitre d’ added, “the waiters have to walk up and down the stairs, carrying heavy trays.” Last time I checked, women didn’t have any problem walking while carrying trays.

Ironically, our dinner conversation occurred at the same time the world-famous Masters Tournament gets underway in nearby Augusta, Ga. The Augusta National club still doesn’t accept women members. And still, despite the discrimination, it retains major corporate sponsors, many of which are blue-chip companies whose primary customers are women. Augusta is a private club, so it’s legally allowed to exclude women. Yet, under pressure, amid much criticism of discriminatory admissions practices, the club finally began accepting male African-American members back in 1990 – 18 years ago!

The fact remains that today the same private clubs and popular public restaurants that still refuse women would make front-page news if they refused to hire or admit a person because he was Jewish or black or didn’t speak English. Such practices that exclude women continue now in the 21st century at many private clubs in Georgia and elsewhere across the United States. If you look for it, you can see signs of exclusion everywhere. I wrote in a recent issue of PINK that a pet peeve of mine is looking outside my office window and seeing the “Men at Work” construction signs. Seems to me it’s either not true (women work there also), or if women truly don’t work on a site, well, they ought to have the opportunity to do the job.

I do love that women and men have distinct differences. The fact that individuals from different cultures and belief systems are different from each other is exciting and adds to any situation (the workplace included). Such distinctions ought to be celebrated. But to exclude someone because she is different – whether it’s a job opportunity, or a raise or a chance to play a round of golf – just isn’t right.

To me, the prevailing attitude that permits these discriminatory practices carries over into all facets of life – business being no exception. We have a ways to go before we live in a world where women are treated based on their character and capabilities rather than their gender.

By Cynthia Good