In 2002 a woman named Martha Burk burst into our living rooms and challenged everyone to decide if private country/golf clubs that exclude women were discriminatory. Many responded with a quick no. They are private! was the largest chorus in the responses. Of course, our 15-second media didn’t allow for much discussion of why Burk thought that these clubs were discriminatory.

For her stance, Burk was harassed and threatened - The FBI were called out to ensure her safety when she protested outside the Augusta National Golf Club for not allowing women to be members during the 2003 Masters. Her suggestion that Tiger Woods should be taking a stand upset a lot of golf fans on top of criticizing one of golf’s most revered tournaments. I fielded a press call as a board member of a local NOW chapter with this quote:

“Woods underestimates his power as a spokesman for golf. “He would be like a sponsor of a TV show,” Arreola said. “If a TV show was racist, the advertiser could force change or pull its sponsorship. Tiger Woods has that kind of power. He doesn’t have to pull out of the British Open or the Masters to get a reaction. He just needs to take a stand.”(Chicago Tribune, 7/17/2002 “Woods finds hazard; organizations upset at his lack of stance on Augusta’s exclusion of women”)

I stand by my quote just as I stand by Burk today.

Over the weekend the NYTimes ran a piece on a Phoenix country golf club that does not allow even married men and women to eat together in the grill room. At the heart of this case and Augusta is not even the basic fairness of allowing women access to the same facilities as men, but that companies are subsidizing this inequality.

Because while some felt that Burk’s protest was a one-time publicity grab, they missed the big picture, she says. And they underestimated her tenaciousness. Burk’s “Women on Wall Street Project” targets companies that have CEOs and other executives who are Augusta National members. The organization has filed class-action gender-discrimination suits on behalf of female employees of those companies.

And they’ve won nearly $80 million thus far in settlements. Last year, the Women on Wall Street Project reached a $46 million settlement with Morgan Stanley on behalf of eight female employees. Recently, they reached a $33 million settlement with Smith Barney.

Both settlements contained a provision that the companies will cease reimbursing expenses related to Augusta National or other clubs that base membership on race or gender. Burk estimates the number could reach more than $200 million before it’s over.

If men want to belong to an all-men’s club, fine. But I don’t want companies that make a zillion dollars and get plenty of tax-breaks to underwrite the clubs. I think we all know that country clubs are not created for men to get away from the family. They are vital aspects of business. Why else would the National Hispana Leadership Institute run a Latina Golf Clinic at their 2005 conference? It is because people in business know that many relationships are created, developed and cemented out on the golf course.

Yes, a woman trying to court a man for business could suggest jumping in the car to drive into town for a steak and drinks to finalize a contract, but really, how realistic is that? I am sure that some women try to steer their clients from suggesting a discriminatory club for where to meet, but I’m also sure they don’t always want to insert, “Look, Bob. We want your business, but you know that we can’t grab a steak together after golf because the Phoenix Country Club doesn’t like that I’m a woman.”

These clubs may not have to be fair, but the companies that we work for do. They should not be allowed to pay for memberships to any group that discriminates and certainly should not encourage workers to take clients to discriminatory places either. We’re not that far from the time when business meetings were held at strip clubs too.

Let’s stop talking about this issue like women are ganging up on men for even playing golf. I want us to be honest with each other. Business happens on the golf course and if that golf course makes women eat in a separate room, excludes them from being members, or keeps people of different ethnic groups out, they are discriminatory and not a proper place for work to occur.

Readers: Have you ever had to deal with holding business at a discriminatory place? An improper location? And what have you done to get through it?