Augusta rules
Does it matter who hits the links with the President?
In a town always in search of a news story, it should perhaps come as little surprise that newspapers have been eager to report that Melody Barnes, the President’s top domestic policy adviser, yesterday became the first woman to golf with Obama since the inauguration.
The now famous golf round did not come before some controversy. The President recently hosted a basketball game with male Cabinet members and Members of Congress–none female. The “boys club” speculation erupted almost immediately.
Is gender equality at stake in the composition of the President’s sporting crowd?
If the President’s staff were uniformly male, it would justifiably provoke disapprobation. Not only have values of gender equity come to be widely embraced in an employment context, but our public institutions more than any other are expected to live up to the finest standards of liberal equality–legally and informally.
But golf and basketball are personal passions, not political duties. Does the obligation to promote equity change?
Consider three cases. In all three cases, I’m the manager of a large firm.
Case 1
I play in a weekly basketball league of my design, and it includes only men–none of whom work at my firm
Case 2
I play in a weekly basketball league of my design, and it includes only men–all of whom work at my firm. I only invited men who work at my firm to play, and half accepted the offer.
Case 3
I play in a weekly basketball league of my design, and it includes only men–all of whom work at my firm. I invited every member of firm to play, and only men accepted the offer. All women declined.
Case 1 seems like the least offensive. I’ve kept my personal and professional lives entirely separate. Case 2 feels discriminatory. Even though basketball should have no bearing on professional life at my firm, the tacit signal I send is that I value something about my male employees over and above female employees. Perhaps the added camaraderie of playing basketball may even lead to better compensation or faster promotions for men.
Case 3 is difficult. I made an open offer, and it was one that employees of both genders could have accepted. After all, men and women of all kinds play basketball. But where Case 3 may be equitable in process, it’s inequitable in outcome. The reality is that women of my firm — for whatever reason — declined the offer, and the implicit benefits of this opportunity now only redound to men.
Obama’s case is uniquely complicated. Not only must he worry about Cases 2 and 3 because he invites White House employees to play golf (rather than restricting his outings to those not in government), but he also does not enjoy the persona/professional separation I do. His passions are never personal. The president is always public, and his conduct is evaluated according to public standards.
President Obama should continue to enjoy sports, but he better stick to mixed-doubles.
–Sam
Image courtesey sensico.wordpress.com
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What if you start a public philosophy blog and invite only men?