Private Club II

A little over ten years ago, when I was practicing law in Toledo, Ohio, I briefly considered joining the Toledo Club. At the time, two good friends of mine were among the very few women members. One friend was a state legislator and the other was the wealthy owner of a large company that provided rehabilitation services to nursing homes in a seven state region. The Toledo Club was still very much a men's club but my high powered friends had made it in and they wanted me both to join and join with them in changing the Toledo Club from within.

This plan seemed like a good one to me since it was in sync with my gender politics. Besides, the Toledo Club was beautiful and prestigious. Its main dining room was incredibly impressive and its menu and service were outstanding. Since my estate planning pactice was largely referral based, I was doing a lot of business entertaining. Although the Toledo Club was not convenient to my law office, I was ready to overlook that fact for the "good of the enterprise." So I accepted my friends' nomination and was sent the application materials.

Yikes! Back then, even the application materials were openly sexist. On reflection, I decided I wasn't interested in spending my time to change things from within after all. I had little interest in belonging to a sexist private club that so plainly didn't want "my kind" as a member. I declined the nomination.