The exclusion of women tells us something about the men who choose to be part of it
Where does the establishment reside in the 21st century? One of its homes is 15 Garrick Street, London. The membership list of the Garrick Club, as reported by the Guardian this week, includes senior judges and lawyers, peers and ministers, along with the heads of thinktanks and companies, rock stars, actors, senior journalists, the heads of MI6 and the civil service, and King Charles – but not a single woman. Men in charge of modern courts, government, business and culture relish membership of an institution which is 19th century not only in origin but mindset.
Private members’ clubs are inherently exclusive: joining is expensive, and applicants are vetted by those already inside. It is not a great surprise, then, that the Garrick is overwhelmingly white and generally aged as well as male-only. Members like to portray it as old-fashioned in another regard: a little snoozy, though faintly glamorous thanks to its historical and geographical positioning in London’s theatreland. Nothing really important happens here: why, the rules prohibit working on club premises. Yet members concede that it is done in reality, just discreetly – and it would be naive to imagine that familiarity with influential people within its walls does not bestow advantage outside. The club is one of the many means through which power remains concentrated in an utterly unrepresentative slice of the British population.
