It was a great day for inclusion earlier this year when Ginni Rometty took the helm of the corporate monolith, IBM. One of the largest and most respected of the Fortune 500 companies, Rometty is a testament to the progress that we are making in diversifying the former bastions of male dominance. Currently women represent only 3.4% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
Rometty’s position, however also puts the spotlight on the fact that there are still pockets of exclusion that some think are unfair and beg the question of how far we have really come in shedding discriminatory practices.
The Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters, America’s most prestigious golf tournament. IBM is a major sponsor. The company sponsorship guarantees club membership for its officers, but Rometty is a woman, and the club does not allow women to join.
Does IBM’s and other corporate sponsorships suggest that they support Augusta’s no women allowed policy? Is this the same issue faced by IBM in 1990, when it pulled television ads from the PGA Championship when it was played at the whites-only Shoal Creek Golf Club in Alabama? The club admitted its first African-American in 1990. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now a member.
Maybe though, it won’t be necessary to put sanctions on the private male only club. Will the sheer fact that Augusta’s own policy stipulates that the officers of sponsoring companies are afforded membership override its male only rule? Has IBM overturned a long-standing controversial exclusionary practice without even needing to explicitly speak to it? (IBM officials are not commenting on the controversy.) Would Augusta dare not allow the CEO of its major sponsor to be a member?
So what is the Inclusion Solution? Put women in leadership positions and other barriers will naturally disappear. Inclusion often works in mysterious and wondrous ways! Thank you IBM for continuing to be a leader in breaking down barriers.
This post was written by Mary-Frances Winters, President and Founder of The Winters Group, Inc.
Looks like Augusta hit out of bounds and then triple bogied. I guess we’ll have to see what happens on the back nine. 😉
Augusta is the most popular country club worlwide that has a no woman membership policy, therefore, they get all of the publicity. They do allow women to play as guest. However, they are certanily not the only male only club in our country. There is also a woman only membership club in Canada. Remember Burning Tree in Bethesda, they opted to relinquish their tax exempt status to keep their male only membership. We have a lot of work to do as far as women being treated equally in this busness/game of golf. Women must continue to ” step up to the Tee” and level the playing fields.
I’ve never understood why?…