Historic Turn: Renowned British Gentleman’s Garrick Club Admits Its First Two Female Members

Founded almost 200 years ago in the UK, the famous men's gentlemen's club Garrick Club has welcomed the first two women in its history.  According to The Guardian, 89-year-old Judi Dench and 91-year-old Sian Phillips became the first women to become members of the historic Garrick Club in London and honorary members of the club. Their admission was announced during the club's annual general meeting on Monday evening, 1 July. 

The ban on admitting women to the men's club has been in place since the establishment of the institution in 1831. 

However, as recently as May, a majority of the club's members voted in favour of allowing women to join, overturning several previous votes that had blocked proposals to reform the club's rules. Earlier, the club's leadership reported that it had received letters and emails from more than 200 members telling them that they would resign if the vote went against women.

Judi Dench and Sian Phillips were not the only female candidates to join the club. Since the new rule was passed in May, several women in leadership positions in British society have also been nominated as potential members. 

Prominent among them were Cambridge professor and popular historian Mary Bird, former Home Secretary Amber Rudd and news presenter Katie Newman. 

However, the complicated admissions process can take between two and five years, which, as The Guardian revealed, caused concern for several members as it would mean the first woman's membership would not take effect until 2026. So the club removed the old article from its strict rulebook, which states that "the general committee may, at its discretion, elect four members each year, taking into account their high profile or public distinction." This means that by the end of the year, the club of 1,500 members could have four women.

The club is located in Covent Garden in London's West End. It has been under scrutiny since the Guardian published a list of about 60 names of the club's most influential members.

The list includes Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Skills Michael Gove, head of the MI6 spy agency Richard Moore and Simon Case, who as Cabinet Secretary is the Prime Minister's senior policy adviser and manager of nearly 500,000 civil servants.