National Press Club: Tolerating Women Since 1971

The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. is celebrating its centennial this month. It's only semi-recently since they've tolerated women in the club: "In 1956, the men offered a compromise by inviting women to attend the luncheons, so long as they sat in the balcony and left as soon as the lunch was over. While the men dined below, the women shared the balcony with television cameras, hot lights, and coils of electrical wiring." They weren't allowed to join as full members until 1971, and that was only because they needed money, and capitalism trumps sexism. But women weren't the only ones dissed. Radio news broadcasters (the bloggers of their day) "were also treated as second-class citizens at first, being permitted to join the club only as non-voting members." [Oxford University Press blog] Celebrate the old days with a clip from "His Girl Friday," after the jump.