All-male Augusta National overlooks Virginia Rometty. Should IBM complain?

Behind the scenes at this year’s Masters golf tournament is a matchup that many are watching almost as much as Tiger Woods versus the rest of the field.

The matchup is between the men-only Augusta National Golf Club – where the tournament has been played since 1933 – and critics who have been calling for a female member, particularly since 2002, when feminist Martha Burk took on the club.  

The new wrinkle is that Augusta has traditionally extended membership to the CEOs of its corporate sponsors. Now, one of those sponsors, IBM, has a female CEO – one who even plays golf. 

It's an awkward moment for IBM and CEO Virginia "Ginni" Rometty as they consider what – if anything – to do about the apparent snub. Fighting the feminist cause might not be IBM's job, say some experts, but the company might have to brace for a potential backlash if it continues its relationship with Augusta.

While Augusta National undercut protests in 2002 by eliminating commercials on its broadcasts – thereby removing the opportunity for potential boycotts – IBM could face an uprising that is harder to handle.  

“IBM can decide to support the Augusta National as is, but the tradeoffs are huge,” says Mary Ellen Balchunis, a political scientist at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, who will be using the episode for her course on women in politics.  

"First, it would be a real slap in the face to CEO Ginny Rometty should the Augusta National not admit her as a member," she says in an e-mail. "Second, should IBM continue to be the chief sponsor if IBM does not admit their CEO, IBM should be prepared for a large boycott by women. Women are IBM users and purchasers.”

For its part, Augusta has long been proud of its exclusivity and conservatism. It didn’t have a black member until 1990, when the club extended an invitation to Gannett television executive Ron Townsend, according Orin Starn, a cultural anthropologist at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and a golf historian.

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