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2009/22: Should single-sex clubs such as the Melbourne Club and the Lyceum continue to exist?<BR>

2009/22: Should single-sex clubs such as the Melbourne Club and the Lyceum continue to exist?

What they said ...
'There are a lot of entrenched views about these clubs that aren't really appropriate... They are just places where people can meet socially; really they are like second homes'
Annie James, immediate past president of the Lyceum

'Discrimination laws currently don't apply to private clubs, which can ban women, or people of a certain religious faith, without any recourse'
Rob Hull, Victoria's Attorney General

The issue at a glance
On November 24, 2009, a Victorian Parliamentary Committee issued a report recommending that single-sex venues, including the exclusive Melbourne and Athenaeum clubs on Collins St, should be able to continue to operate on a one gender basis.
Earlier this year, the Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls, had suggested they were relics of the past which should lose their automatic exemptions from the Equal Opportunity Act and other anti-discrimination laws.
The report by the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee recommended that freedom of association was a 'fundamental human right' that should be balanced against the right to non-discrimination.  On this basis the Committee recommended that ' private clubs should be permitted to discriminate in relation to selection of members'.
Some have argued that the decision is a victory for both freedom of association and commonsense. Others have suggested that these single sex clubs are unrepresentative anachronisms which entrench social and gender-based discrimination, giving those groups which are admitted the opportunity to network and entrench their advantage.
Mr Hulls has said the Government would consider the recommendations.

Background
(The following information is drawn from an analysis written by Malcom Knox and published in The Monthly No 50 in October, 2009.  This material has been abridged.  The full text of the article, titled 'In Retreat', can be found at http://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-malcolm-knox-retreat-gentlemen039s-clubs-2018)
Australia has approximately 30 single-sex clubs. The oldest is Sydney's The Australian Club, founded in 1838, followed by the Melbourne Club, which was founded a year later.
These clubs and their imitators had a similar founding principle: a cocoon for the landed gentry. Melbourne gained its Savage and Athenaeum clubs, as well as its own branch of The Australian Club (established 1878), while the less clubbable Perth, Hobart, Brisbane and Adelaide subsequently formed their own exclusively male clubs.
Sydney's Union Club was founded in 1857 by men from The Australian Club who opposed the overuse of the blackball within the ranks of the original club.  The Union Club has since merged with the Universities and Schools Club and now allows female 'associate' members. As a response to its two gender membership policy, the Union Club lost reciprocal privileges with two London gentlemen's clubs.
The Queen's and Women's clubs, in Sydney, maintain a ladies-only policy, as do the Alexandra and Lyceum clubs in Melbourne and the Moreton Club in Brisbane. Many members have spouses at the men's clubs. In Sydney's Palm Beach, the exclusive clubs for former members of the surf club are divided by sex. The Cabbage Tree Club, for men, and the Pacific Club, for women, sit on the beach front side by side like a monastery and a convent.
With most of these clubs, money is not the primary basis for entry. The barrier to entry is not high annual membership fees (which range mostly from $500 to $2000), but rather the hurdle of sponsoring and refereeing and vetting: the months and sometimes years of interviews and checking before a nominee is accepted for membership. The clubs are said to primarily select by type or class, not wealth.

Internet information
On January 18, 2009, the Institute of Public Affairs published and opinion piece written by Chris Berg. The piece is titled, 'Leave the poor old chaps alone'.  The piece argues that these clubs are essentially innocuous and serve a useful purpose for their members.  The full text of this opinion piece can be found at http://www.ipa.org.au/news/1782/leave-the-poor-old-chaps-alone

On September 29, 2009, ABC Radio's current affairs program, The Drum Unleashed, broadcast a program titled, 'When some become less equal than others'.  The opinion was present by Tom Elliott. Who argued in defence of the continued existance of single-sex private clubs.
The full text of this opinion piece can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2699160.htm

In October, 2009, The Monthly published an analysis by Malcolm Knox, titled, 'In Retreat: Gentlemen's Clubs'.   The article gives an overview of single-sex clubs in Australia, their historical origins and the factors the author believes will either lead to their decline or see their survival.
The full text of the article can be found at http://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-malcolm-knox-retreat-gentlemen039s-clubs-2018

On November 24, 2009, the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee issued its final report on
'Exceptions and Exemptions to the Equal Opportunity Act 1995'.  The full text of the report can be found at http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/sarc/EOA_exempt_except/Final%20Report/Final%20Report%20November.pdf

On November 25, 2009, ABC Radio's current affairs program PM examined the issue of single-sex clubs' exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act. The views of a variety of stakeholders from both side of the issue were presented.  The full text of the program can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2009/s2753500.htm

On December 4, 2009,  ABC Radio's current affairs program, The Drum Unleashed, broadcast a program titled, 'Anti-discrimination laws that discriminate'.  The piece was produced by Rachel Ball and Melanie Schleiger presented views arguing that the exemptions granted all-male social clubs were discriminatory and entrenched male proivilege.
The full text of the piece can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2761609.htm

Arguments in favour of single sex clubs
1.  Their members' have a right to freedom of association
Private clubs have retained their capacity to be gender-specific because, the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee argued, their existence is an expression of the right of freedom of association.  
According to this argument, people should be able to decide with whom they will associate and where.  Therefore, if the members of a club have decided they wish to associate only with other men, they should be free to do so. Equally, if the members of a club decide that they wish to associate only with women when they attend this club, then they should be able to exercise that right.
This point was made by Tim Wilson, director of the IP and Free Trade Unit at the Institute of Public Affairs.  Mr Wilson has stated, 'Hulls' introduction to the Charter of Human Rights says "freedom of association . . . and other basic human rights are almost universally recognised, yet not always practised". But Hulls isn't practising what he preaches. If he did, he'd let private clubs, not the Government, decide their membership.'
When the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee made its recommendation it too stressed the importance of freedom of association. The Committee concluded that freedom of association was a 'fundamental human right' that was protected under Victorian law, and it needed to be balanced against the right to non-discrimination.
The Committee stated, '... the exceptions and exemptions from the Act's prohibitions on
discrimination generally exist to allow rights other than non-discrimination rights to be balanced and respected. The Committee observes that exceptions and exemptions often relate to situations where there are rights that conflict with the right to non-discrimination, such as freedom of association, privacy, or religious freedom, which are also covered by the Charter.'
James Guest, in a letter to the editor published in The Age on August 2, 2009, argued, 'How could a Labor MP want to legislate against freedom of association, even jail people to achieve compliance? I have belonged to one of the clubs Mr Hulls resents for nearly 50 years. I have never made any secret of the fact that I would personally welcome women members. It just happens that it is a club founded as a club for men who know other men who would welcome their company.'
In the 'Unleashed' segment, broadcast on the ABC on September 29, 2009, Tom Elliott stated, 'People are entitled to discriminate in their private lives, as no one can be forced to have friends of all ethnicities, religions and genders. On the same basis, private men's clubs which play no serious role in public life beyond that of extended fellowship should be able restrict membership as they see fit.'

2.  There are men-only, women-only and mixed gender clubs available
It has further been claimed the existence of single sex clubs does not infringe on the rights of any group as there are clubs available to suit all preferences.  There are men-only clubs for men who prefer this.  There are women-only clubs for women who prefer this.  And then there are mixed sex clubs for those who wish to experience this environment.
Thus it has been noted that though Governor General Quentin Bryce is unable to join the men-only Melbourne Club, she has joined the women-only Lyceum Club.
A spokeswoman for Ms Bryce has noted, 'The Governor-General has no issue with men or women-only clubs or organisations. She is patron of numerous organisations specifically for women, such as the CWA, the Girls Brigade, Business and Professional Women Australia and the National Rural Women's Coalition.'

3.  These clubs do not completely exclude the other gender
It has been noted that these single sex clubs only preclude the other gender becoming permanent members, not from attending the clubs' functions.  John Kiely, in a letter to the editor published in The Age on August 2, 2009, claimed, 'Hulls also fails to mention that women are often invited to dinners and other functions at the Melbourne Club and men similarly to the Lyceum Club, where I have even been invited to help with play readings.'
The Savage club, for example, admits women as guests after 4.30pm. Similarly, Michael Shelton, the president of the Melbourne Club, has stated, 'Women have a wonderful enjoyment of our club. In actual fact I'm going to a dinner tonight which is a mixed dinner, and a musical dinner which will be great and there's nothing wrong with that.
Women are very welcome at the club. It's the members who determine membership and if in the fullness of time, the members decide that they'd like women as members, well it's their right to choose it, it's not for the government to determine who belongs to the club.'

4.  The clubs are not intended to entrench male (or female) power and privileges
It has been claimed that these clubs are not bastions of social privilege, rather they are simply free associations of like-minded people who enjoy each others' company.
Annie James, immediate past president of the Lyceum, has stated, 'I think there are a lot of entrenched views about these clubs that aren't really appropriate. They're not for business, whatever. Most of them now welcome people of either sex into their club a lot of times. They are just places where people can meet socially; really they are like second homes.'
In an opinion piece published in The Age on January 18, 2009, Chris Berg wrote, 'Of course, there are pockets in Australian society where people do encounter discrimination on the basis of race, gender or religion. But exclusive clubs are hardly a social problem that demands immediate action from a crack team of legislators. These clubs are a lot more harmless than the government seems to believe. As The Age reported on Friday, less than one-fifth of the Melbourne Club's membership is also listed in Who's Who Australia - it's hardly a centre of power, secret rituals and the manipulation of public opinion.
Put a bunch of men in a room with alcohol and snacks for long enough and it's fairly predictable what will happen. The conversation will eventually degenerate from business and high politics to cricket, the best songs on Guitar Hero World Tour and the most effective way humanity could defeat a surprise invasion of Velociraptors. Who would win in a fight: Conan-era Schwarzenegger or Bruce Lee? Perhaps the conversation will eventually turn to some gentlemanly wagers - could it be possible for one man to traverse the world in 80 days? And given the demographics of Melbourne's most exclusive clubs, a typical evening might end with the singing of some vaguely remembered songs from boarding school.'

5.  Single-sex clubs should be able to continue to operate while they meet members' needs
It has been argued that these clubs only continue to exist because they meet members' needs.       Damon Young, a philosopher and author of 'Distraction: A Philosopher's Guide to Being Free' has attempted to explain the type of need he believes they serve.  
Young has written, 'For many Australians, the desire to associate with their own sex will remain, regardless of legislation. They might not be a majority. And they won't want this day in, day out. Nonetheless, there will be an hour, perhaps at the end of the workday, or after the day's domestic chores are done, when Melburnians will long for a fine wine, a good couch and the company of fellow men or women...
This isn't necessarily about misogyny or misandry. It offers a simple fellowship, uncomplicated by gender relations. It allows certain parts of our personality to be gratified, exercised and refined.
This is why we have words such as ''mateship'' and ''sisterhood'' - they express the strange bonds that are forged by our gender experiences. This has less to do with networking and exclusion, and more to do with our common human longing for fellowship. And we stifle this at our peril.
It has been argued that such clubs are an area where legislation should not intrude.  These clubs regulate themselves and will cease to exist when they no longer offer an experience that a significant number of people want.

Arguments against single sex clubs
1. Single-sex clubs discriminate against the excluded gender (especially women)
It has been claimed that private clubs, in denying membership to either men or women, are discriminating against the excluded gender.  
The Victorian Attorney General Mr Rob Hulls, has stated, 'One issue on which I suspect many Victorians would have more clarity, however, is the entitlement of private clubs to restrict membership on the basis of any attribute they find objectionable, such as gender, disability or religion. Discrimination laws currently don't apply to private clubs, which can ban women, or people of a certain religious faith, without any recourse.
I remain to be convinced as to why organisations such as the Melbourne or Athenaeum clubs should continue to operate under separate rules from everybody else. In this day and age, it's hard to imagine the value of a men's club too exclusive for the current Governor-General, Deputy Prime Minister, or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court...
It's important to articulate what we consider to be an unfettered fair go; what we consider to be, in all the competing circumstances, a fair cop; and what we believe is a no go.'

2.  Single-sex clubs seek to foster influence and entrench privilege
Men's clubs are condemned as bastions of male privilege where wealthy and influential leaders in business, politics and academia network.  Membership of such clubs is seen as a way of consolidating power while the exclusion of women from such clubs is believed to reduce their capacity to gain and exercise power.
Rachel Ball and Melanie Schleiger have argued, 'Men-only clubs may appear innocuous, but they are a significant obstacle to substantive equality for women.
The exclusionary nature of these clubs systematically deprives women from developing their career potential and breaking into powerful business, political and community networks.
Denying women equal access to these elite and powerful institutions also reinforces the stereotypical view that women are inferior as leaders and business professionals.
The significance of these exclusionary practices - and their endorsement in our laws - should not be underestimated.
Elite men-only clubs are not the same as the local women's gym or the Monday night tennis team.
Leaders from the corporate sector, politics and the law are invited to join - at least in part - because they occupy positions of power. If the Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court and the Governor General of Australia were men, they would have automatically been invited to join the Australian Club.
This automatic invitation is not based on an assumption that all high office-bearers are great conversationalists. It is disingenuous to say that such clubs play no role in perpetuating discriminatory hierarchies.
Nor should we be placated by claims that discrimination against women is a 'non-issue'. In 2008, women in ASX 200 companies held only 2 per cent of CEO positions, chaired 2 per cent of boards and held 8.3 per cent of board director positions. Australia is failing to make progress.'
Philosopher and author, Damon Young, has similarly noted, 'What Hulls is getting at is something else: a patriarchal vision of the world, where men (usually rich, older and white) sit by the furnace of power, and shut the boiler room door on women. And he sees this, it seems, as a relic of the 19th century, with its strictly defined gender roles, and celebration of the rich, powerful, Anglo-Saxon gentleman.
Even if this were a caricature, there's no doubt that gentlemen's clubs do often attract wealthy, powerful men. And in doing so, they provide a forum for networking in an old-fashioned way - while business is off-limits, the atmosphere still provides the glue that keeps old boys together. In this, they're like sporting clubs and private schools, both of which remain tarnished by problems of misogyny and male aggression.'

3.  Single-sex clubs are anachronisms
It has been claimed that in limiting themselves to a single-sex membership, these clubs are seriously out of step with contemporary reality, as men and women work together in most areas of modern life and women occupy prominent positions in all walks of life.
One-time member of The Anthenaeum, John Ridely, a former Victorian Liberal Party state director, has argued that the single sex clubs could not rightly continue to proclaim they are forums for Melbourne's civic, social, political and economic leaders when they exclude 50 per cent of the population.  
The governor-general has traditionally been granted honorary membership of men's clubs such as the Athenaeum, however, Ms Bryce is currently denied membership because she is a woman.  This is said to demonstrate how out of touch these clubs are.  Their single sex-policies mean they are unable to have as members either the current Australian Governor-General or the current Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
The Deputy Prime Minister has claimed, 'Our institutions have not always looked forward. I'm sometimes tempted, on days when I am Acting Prime Minister, to go down to the Melbourne Club with our female Governor-General and apply for membership on the spot. But then again, it has been remarked that the second-most-common appendage at the Melbourne Club is a walking stick.'
It has also been suggested that it is unhealthy to have young members joining such clubs and thus perpetuating outdated attitudes.
One of those who quit the Athenaeum Club was the former diplomat, Ian Wilcock.  Shortly afterwards he wrote, ' Particularly shocking to me was the attitude of younger members ... who are clearly unable to adjust to the world as it is and who seem to want to retreat to some kind of boys' tree house where they might be untroubled by half the human race.'

4.  These clubs practice other forms of discrimination in addition to that based on gender
It has been claimed that many of the single sex clubs also practise discrimination based on class, religion and ethnicity. In particular some of these clubs are said to be prejudiced against Jewish people and allow them either limited or no access.
In an article published in The Age on May 10, 2009, Peter Munro wrote about the formation of a new club the Melbourne Forum.  The club has a conscious and stated policy of non-discrimination.  Munro wrote, 'Some people who attended referred to a lingering sense - rightly or wrongly - that Jews were not fully accepted at the establishment clubs, although the Melbourne and Athenaeum have had Jewish members for many years. Arts Centre president Carrillo Gantner made an "impassioned plea" at the lunch for people to sign up, one guest said, and he was applauded when he criticised lingering prejudice against Jews.
Ms Adler, who attended the lunch, told The Sunday Age there was a need for a group embracing all religions and both genders. "My ethnicity would be such that there aren't a lot of clubs in Melbourne who would welcome me," she said.
"I'm a Jewish girl and the Melbourne Club is not renowned for welcoming people who are Jews."'

5.  These clubs should not be granted a permanent, unjustified exemption under Victoria's equal opportunity legislation
There are a number of automatic exemptions granted under the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act.  It has been claimed that these permanent exemptions entrench prejudice as they allow certain groups to discriminate without having to justify this discrimination.
In arguing against these exemptions, the Victorian Attorney General. Robert Hulls, wrote, 'The Government has also initiated a review of the exceptions and exemptions currently contained in the Equal Opportunity Act, which allow non-compliance with the legislation by small businesses, religious organisations and private clubs. These groups are automatically excluded from the provisions and can discriminate against any sector of the community without having to justify it.'
It has been claimed that were many of these clubs required to justify their policies of exclusion they would find it very difficult to do so.

Further implications
Although the Committee recommended that the exemptions from the Equal Opportunity Act currently granted to single-sex social clubs should stay, it also recommended  that the Act should require that the exceptions and exemptions in the be reviewed at least every 10 years to determine whether they should be retained, amended or repealed.
This clearly indicates that although these one gender clubs have survived, their exempt status is not guaranteed and they may finally by prohibited under the Equal Opportunity Act.  Before this were to happen, however, it seems more likely that these clubs would have ceased to exist due to lack of membership.
At this stage, these clubs do not appear to be flagging.  While the recent establishment of the Melbourne Forum suggests that many men and women would prefer mixed gender clubs, other members clearly do not. In fact it has been noted that some of the oldest and most prestigious men's clubs have recently enjoyed a growth in membership.
The long-term fate of these clubs will ultimately depend not on Government policy and a change in the law, but on public attitudes and what is commonly regarded as acceptable.  This will affect both the number of members they have and whether Governments feel comfortable changing the law to exclude they.
The Victorian Attorney General, Rob Hulls, has said that his Government will now consider whether to act on the recommendations of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee.  Though Mr Hulls clearly disagrees with the exemptions recommended he is unlikely to act against single clubs in defiance of the recommendations of the Committee.
Hulls' broader concern regarding women being able to secure equal access to positions of power and authority in the broader arena may come to seem less and less important.  As women gain more and more positions of power in the world outside these clubs, the clubs' capacity to influence external events will become less.  As Hulls has noted, it is difficult to take seriously men's clubs whose membership requirements exclude the cuurent Governor-General and the current deputy Prime Minister for no better reason than that each is a woman.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
The Age:  January 16, page 1, analysis by Farah Farouque, `Entree to secretive world of men only'.
http://www.boysname.com.au/boys-name-articles/2009/1/16/entree-to-secretive-world-of-men-only/

The Age:  January 13, page 3, news item (with list of clubs) by Farah Farouque, `"Crusty old" men's clubs may soon be history: Hulls'
http://www.theage.com.au/national/crusty-old-mens-clubs-may-soon-be-history-hulls-20090112-7f8t.html

The Age:  January 13, page 10, editorial, `Clubs for secret men's business on borrowed time'. (The link below is to a copy of the original article.)
http://www.businesslaws.com.au/legal-news/2009/1/14/clubs-for-secret-mens-business-on-borrowed-time/

The Australian:  January 1, page 2, news item (ref to Melbourne's Athenaeum Club) by Cameron Stewart, `Club member quits in disgust'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/club-member-quits-in-disgust/story-e6frg6of-1111118449695

The Age:  May 10, page 2, analysis (ref to Melbourne Forum - photos) by Peter Munro, `City's mighty meet over new club'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/citys-mighty-meet-over-new-club-20090509-ayot.html

The Age:  May 18, page 5, news item (photo of Kelvin Club, which admitted women as members in 1992) by Kate Lahey, `Hunt is on for partner to keep Kelvin Club fires burning'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/hunt-is-on-to-keep-kelvin-club-fires-burning-20090517-b7df.html

The Australian:  June 9, page 5, news item by Cameron Stewart, `Men-only clubs get Rudd cold shoulder'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/men-only-clubs-get-rudd-cold-shoulder/story-0-1225729911806

The Age:  November 27, page 19, comment by Damon Young, `The urge for single-sex fraternity will remain strong'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-urge-for-singlesex-fraternity-will-remain-strong-20091126-juhd.html

The Age:  November 25, page 3, news item by Paul Austin, `Men-only clubs win right to continue operating'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/menonly-clubs-win-right-to-continue-operating-20091124-jhcg.html

The Age:  Friday, December 18, page 3, news item (photo of Governor-General Quentin Bryce, cartoon) by Mischa Schubert, `Storming men's clubs a laugh, not a priority'.
http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac;jsessionid=0C713CE18AD5A142EB13741C281E64F0?sy=nstore&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=1month&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=brs&cls=1803&clsPage=1&docID=AGE091218EO1HA96JTG2