Women Join the Ranks of LCI Membership
While American mankind…emphasis on “man”… has successfully progressed from one milestone to another, “womankind”, on the other hand , has been left in the lurch and struggles to play catch-up. Striving to attain equal parity on a number of basic human rights has proven to be extremely elusive over many years of frustration.
From the Founding of our Republic, men have been empowered with the right to vote. Women had no such right, and it was not until nearly 150 years later… and only after many bitter and violent confrontations on behalf of woman suffrage… that the hard earned passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 to allow women to vote became reality.
Only three years earlier, on the October 8-9-10, 1917, first convention of Lions International in Dallas, Texas, a measure was approved for the by-laws to admit business women as full members. This came about because Dr. W.P. Woods, the founder of the International Association of Lions Clubs…a man well ahead of his time… had allowed his charter Lions Clubs to do so. But the gesture was short lived. A year later at the second convention in St. Louis, it was rescinded. A woman was admitted into the Austin Downtown Founder Lions Club (Texas), but by the time the third convention in Chicago (1919) rolled around, she was dismissed. Melvin Jones would see to it during all the years he had the power, no woman would be admitted into LCI. But in defense of Melvin, he was not alone. Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary International in 1905, was equally adamant in keeping women out of his organization. And so it was with the Kiwanis group. “For Men Only” was the sign of the times. Women need not apply.
Difficult to understand why it would take another 67 years for women to reach another lofty plateau since they earned the right to vote. Once again, it came about through many struggles, and protests were becoming more vocal and frequent. Unbeknownst to anyone in 1977, fate would set in motion in a most unusual manner , the restoration of yet another right for women: to join the all-male bastion of civic organizations.
Our story begins 1977 in Duarte, California, a less than 20,000 member community in Los Angeles County situated on the historic “Route 66” highway. The Rotary Club of Duarte undertook the bold decision to admit three women into the club in clear violation of Rotary’s all-male policy of their constitution. Early in 1978, after refusing Rotary’s demand that they be expelled from the club, Duarte’s charter was revoked. Dr. Richard Key, president of the local club, stated that “there’s no way” the women members will be asked to resign. Key had mentioned that two-thirds of business and professional people in Duarte were women. Rotary was described as an international service organization of business and professional men— and men only.
The Duarte chapter wanted to appeal at the Rotary convention in Tokyo in May, 1978. Result: By a 1,060 to 34 vote, Rotary International upheld their decision expelling the Duarte club for admitting three women.
From the time it was expelled in 1978, it was not until 1983 when a court became available to hear the case of the now “Ex-Rotary Club” of Duarte . The Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Max F. Deutz, however, ruled against Duarte based on “California law .” He ruled that Rotary International was not a business establishment, so the ban on discrimination did not apply. “ Furthermore,” Deutz wrote, “ the plaintiffs knew they were violating the by-laws at the outset. Their ‘unclean’ hands prohibit their (winning). In any case, they were never misled to their detriment.”
So much for Judge Deutz’ ruling. The “Ex-Rotary Club” of Duarte appealed to the California Court of Appeals— and WON ! This court ruled that Rotary was subject to a state law prohibiting sex discrimination in business establishments. Rotary International appealed to the California Supreme Court which refused to hear it. It was now up to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the issue once and for all.
And that they did. By a 7-0 vote with two abstaining on May 4, 1987, it upheld the Court of Appeals ruling and laid down guidelines that appeared to cover other popular service clubs as well. In the meantime, the Duarte Club was reinstated. And it wasted no time in making a profound statement: It was the first Rotary International club to elect a woman president.
It should be noted that the International Association of Lions Clubs, and a coalition of other clubs, entered the case on Rotary’s behalf.
The Supreme Court ruling reverberated through all the major all-male clubs. The writing was on the wall and Lions Clubs International knew it all too well. LCI had to deal with a number of cases before the 1987 ruling that concerned a few clubs that did “sneak” female members in, but were ultimately caught . One lady was a member for SEVEN years and was detected only after she ran for president of her club. Using only the first initial of her first name, LCI later discovered that the “L” stood for “Lola”. Nevertheless, LCI was not going down easy. Initially suggesting that admission of women should be on a club-to-club basis, it resisted making a blanket ruling.
With all eyes on the Taipei, Taiwan Lions International convention of 1987, an anticipated action did take place. On the last day of the convention, a vote was taken with the Associated Press reporting that it was “ overwhelming” in favor of allowing women to join. Still, twenty-two percent were in favor of maintaining the status-quo. Well, ladies…you lost a number of battles, but you won the war. One can only speculate how much more progress has been generated in the last 30 years as a result of your membership. One thing is certain: Lionism is so much better off with you on board.