Club to salute 50 years of women membership at Silver Owls Hoot, Sept. 16
The National Press Club will mark the 50th anniversary of the historic vote to admit women as members with a celebratory dinner at the Club Friday, Sept. 16. The commemorative dinner is being organized and arranged by the Club's Silver Owls at its Fall Hoot.
While the 50th anniversary was last year, the Club was unable to observe this historic event then due to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hoot is open to all Club members and their guests. Purchase tickets and obtain further information online.
“We are calling our program ‘Down from the Balcony” as a way to recognize the moment in 1971 when professional women journalists were finally admitted as NPC members and allowed to cover Club speakers and other NPC news events on an equal footing with their male colleagues,” said Molly Sinclair McCartney, longtime staff writer for The Washington Post and the first female chair of the Silver Owls.
Vivian Vahlberg, a reporter for The Daily Oklahoman who came down from the Balcony to become the Press Club's first female president 11 years after women were admitted, will be there to talk about her journey from the Balcony to the presidency. The Club's annual "Vivian Awards" presented to outstanding member volunteers are named after her.
The Hoot also will also recognize Club members who have achieved silver, golden or platinum status since the last Hoot in 2019. Silver Owls are those who have been Club members 25 years or longer. Golden Owls are those who have been members 50 years or more. Platinum Owls are those who have been members 60 years or longer.
The dinner begins at 6 p.m. in the Holeman Lounge and Ballroom. Tickets are $35 for a three-course roast beef dinner or a vegetarian option. The dinner will be preceded by a cash bar and passed appetizers.
The National Press Club was founded in 1908 and for the next 63 years its membership remained strictly male. While women journalists were allowed into the Club to cover newsmaking luncheons and other events from the Ballroom balcony, they were denied membership. That ended Jan. 15, 1971, when Club members, after vigorous and sometimes heated debate, voted 227-56 in favor of admitting women.
There were strong emotions on both sides of the argument. One prominent Club officer proclaimed that admitting women "would severely alter, if not destroy the character of this 62-year-old institution."
And, he continued, "the argument that admission of women would add to our economic base is specious. The spending habits of women argue against that."
Another Club official argued strongly for the admission of women. "As long as the National Press Club refuses to recognize women as part of the national press corps, its credibility as the National Press Club is chipped away," he said.
If the Club continues to deny women membership, he added, "we should consider changing our name to the 'Men's Press Club of Washington, D.C.', or the '14th and F Street Men's Club'".
After the debate and vote, 24 women, 22 active journalists, including Katharine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post, and two nonactive, a Congressional press secretary and a publicist for a women's business organization, became Club members.
Gil Klein, chair of the Club's History and Heritage team and author of "Tales from The National Press Club," a detailed history of the Press Club, will present an illustrated account of the struggle for women to gain membership.
Since Vahlberg was elected the first female Club president in 1982, there have been 14 others. Jen Judson, the current Club president, is the 15th woman president and the 115th president since the Club's founding. Jen will make welcoming remarks to the attendees.
Ann McFeatters, a celebrated author, a long time Washington correspondent, bureau chief, and national columnist, will also be there to discuss her experiences. McFeatters is a former president of the Washington Press Club, which formerly was the Women's National Press Club. The Washington Press Club and the National Press Club merged in 1985.
