AS THE 2012 Masters proves, there are two Americas - corporate America and political America.
The difference explains why President Obama, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and even Rick Santorum took the same position on Augusta National, the all-male country club that hosts the hallowed Masters golf tournament: Sharing rare common ground, these male political leaders agreed it’s time for the club to accept women as members. From political left to political right, they know not every woman cares about golf; but they also know many women care about anachronisms like an all-male golf club.
To win, politicians need women voters. Virginia Rometty, IBM’s first female CEO, does not, which explains her disappointing silence regarding Augusta’s antiquated membership policy.
Because of gender, Rometty did not get to wear the green jacket that is traditionally given to IBM executives in honor of their sponsorship. She attended the event as “just another face in the crowd,’’ as The New York Times put it, and ignored calls to pull IBM’s sponsorship. Instead, she let IBM tout innovation and the “decade of smart’’ in its Masters advertising.
Why? Rometty answers to the male-dominated world of the business elite, not to American women in general, or, even more specifically, to tech career women. Rabble-rousing is not a fast track up the ladder, and it’s often a quick ticket down.
According to Catalyst, the nonprofit membership organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for women in business, women currently hold 3.4 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions. Rometty is one of 17 female CEOS in that category.
When IBM announced her promotion last October, outgoing CEO Sam Palmisano still felt compelled to say, “Ginni got it because she deserved it; it’s got zero to do with progressive social policies.’’ In the 21st century, IBM is still explaining that a woman got the top job on merit, not just because she’s a woman. Given those dynamics, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that IBM’s first female CEO decided not to make the men of Augusta National squirm.
But it’s a missed opportunity for Rometty and IBM. They had a chance to take a stand; instead they took a pass.
Women, especially in tech, noticed. Eileen Burbidge, who runs a venture capital fund, and before that worked in Silicon Valley in various roles at Sun, Apple, Openwave, and PalmSource, created an online petition calling on IBM and Rometty to pull their Masters sponsorship.
Citing IBM’s progressive past, Burbidge blogged that she expected more from a company that offered training classes for female systems services professionals in 1935; hired its first black salesman in 1946; and released its first equal opportunity employment policy letter in 1952 - one year before the US Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education. It has been ranked in Working Mother Magazine’s Top 10 places to work and long provided same-sex partners with health benefits. “So why does it continue to sponsor a golf tournament held at a private club which does not allow female membership?’’ she asked.
In an open letter to Rometty, Burbidge wrote that her “silence is deafening; Out of respect for yourself, women like you, women like me, women who work in your organization, and men and women to come, please establish that this is no longer acceptable in 2012.’’
This year, Rometty, along with Augusta National, is rightly on the hot seat. At the very least, she could have made it awkward for the guys. Maybe an asterisk on those IBM ads about being innovative and smart, followed by the words, “not happening on this golf course’’?
As a private club, Augusta can legally exclude women. It refused to admit black members until 1990, and once required all caddies to be black. Today the club seems even more determined to hold the line on female membership.
Perhaps Rometty will be braver next year. Or maybe she’s counting on some future, hot-shot male CEO to force Augusta National to change course.
Election-year lip service from politicians won’t do it. This club needs to feel the heat from corporate America and a CEO who wants the company brand to stand for something smart, innovative, and more modern than a creaky old boy’s network.
Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter@Joan_Vennochi.