‘No longer remotely defensible’: Garrick’s decision to admit women shows times have changed

Issue was not existence of men-only clubs but uniqueness of Garrick’s powerful membership list casting unflattering spotlight on British establishment

• Garrick Club votes to accept female members for first time

Who cares that an elite organisation full of mostly elderly white men has decided to allow women to join them in a small central London private members’ club?

Such was the reaction of many of the club’s members who had responded with extreme ill-temper to the Guardian’s recent decision to publish the names of about 60 of the Garrick Club’s most influential members. There has been an orgy of mansplaining in newspaper comment pieces. The Garrick’s rules prohibit networking or even working inside the building, these members say, so it would be very wrong-headed and silly to believe that anything of any consequence ever happens within the club’s four walls. The Garrick is merely a spot for friendly relaxation.