Garrick victory for women 'is a win on the long road to gender equality'

THE Garrick Club’s decision to allow female members for the first time in its 193-year history has been hailed as one of the “small battles” on the road to gender equality by a leading feminist campaigner.

- Robert Dex

Almost 60 per cent of members voted in favour of the change after new club rules said that only a 50 per cent majority was needed. Previously a two-thirds majority was necessary.

Fashion entrepreneur Emily Bendell welcomed the decision saying the club had “finally been dragged into the 21st century” and described the decision as a blow against the Garrick’s “boys’ club mentality…that holds women back”.

She said it was only when the members were “named and shamed” that change happened. Ms Bendell added: “A win is a win. The road to gender equality is paved with thousands of small battles, and today we have shown that even the Garrick’s old guard cannot escape this long march of history.”