The National Human Rights Commission recommended correction regarding a golf club that requires individuals to be male to become full members by purchasing a membership, but the golf club refused. The commission expressed regret.
The commission recommended correction to Mr. A, the representative of the golf club that restricted female full membership on the 26th, but Mr. A replied that they have no choice but to restrict new female full membership. The commission deemed that Mr. A did not accept the recommendation.
According to the commission, complainant Mr. B tried to purchase a membership for the golf club for his wife, but the club refused, stating that 'full membership is limited to men.' The golf club opened in the 1980s and has a total of 1,910 members. The club held two membership recruitments in the 1980s, during which there were 12 female full members. From the 1990s, the club allowed membership through inheritance when incumbent full members died, resulting in a total of 48 female full members currently.
The golf club explained that there is a lack of women’s lockers, and among the current full members, 42% (795 members) are in their 70s or older, indicating expected female full membership through inheritance. It stated that it is difficult to add more women’s lockers within the current facilities, and expansion requires securing land or reconstruction.
At this golf club, 428 lockers (85%) are for men, and 75 lockers (15%) are for women. As more women visit the club, 38 of the men's lockers are being used for women about once or twice a week by installing movable walls. From 2021 to last year, about 85% of visitors were men and 15% were women.
The commission stated that using 38 men's lockers as women's once or twice a week does not indicate a lack of facilities, and the claim of predicting female full membership through inheritance lacks objective data. It stated, “Even if the club was established considering men as the main customers in the 1980s, limiting female full membership outside inheritance without a reasonable cause is discriminatory conduct violating the right to equality based on gender.”
Concerning Mr. A, the golf club representative, not accepting the improvement recommendation, the commission said, “We express regret for not accepting (the correction recommendation) without the minimum effort.”