London's 200-year-old Garrick Club finally to allow women members

8/5/2024 18:52

        London's elite Garrick Club voted to allow women to join for the first time since being founded in 1831, responding to growing public pressure to end its archaic all-male setup.
        
        After a vote, female members approved by the Garrick's admissions process can have a place at one of the British establishment's top tables: it boasts King Charles as a current member and 19th century author Charles Dickens in the past.
        
        Located in London's West End theatre-land, the private members club has been criticised this year after a leak revealed its roughly 1,300 members to be a who's who of politicians, journalists, judges and actors.
        
        While other male-only private clubs still exist in London, the Garrick's high-profile membership triggered debate about elitism and exclusion of women in British society.