Should Augusta National Golf Course Allow Women Members?

Paper Summary:

This paper uses a letter written by Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations to the private Augusta National Golf Club protesting that no women members are allowed in the club. This letter is the starting point for the author's argument that membership organizations can limit applicants on the basis of gender. The author counter argues that, if the objective of forcing the club to allow women members is supposed to improve the plight of working women in general, most of the arguments of Ms. Burk and her supporters appear to have little or no merit. This paper presents many arguments including that Augusta National has a clear legal right to exclude women from membership, citing the Supreme Court's case, "Boy Scouts of America v. Dale".

Table of Contents
Introduction
Martha Burk's Arguments
Counter Arguments
Position of Golfers
Arguments in Favor of Augusta National's Position
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Adding women members to the Augusta National membership list will not improve the pay and opportunities for women in this country. While the club is composed of wealthy, influential people, it is a miniscule portion of society. Unless one is at least a casual golf fan, the Masters, the Augusta National Golf Club and its policies mean little or nothing to the average person. Ms. Burk and her supporters have failed to show that allowing women to join the club will help a significant number of women. They have simply made the unsupported gratuitous statement that it will. Actually, Ms. Burk and her organization would probably have a greater impact on more people by focusing on integrating small-town clubs that exclude people on the same basis as Augusta National does. But, of course, there would be no media attention from doing that."

More papers on Should Augusta National Golf Course Allow Women Members?:

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