Fellow travellers, but turned from door

Press, 29 August 1977, Page 1

Fellow travellers, but turned from door

Charges of chauvinism have been levelled at Canterbury commercial travellers after an incident at their Christchurch'club on Friday.

Three female commercial travellers went to the premises of the Canterbury Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Association, intending to join.

They were "laughed at,” they say, and told that the association did not accept women members. Miss M. I. Andrews said that she and the two other women were told they could come in if they were accompanied by a member, but that they could not join themselves.

“None of them introduced themselves,” she said, "and they obviously thought the situation was laughable.”

Miss Andrews, a representative of a cosmetics firm, said she and her

companions were told the association had tried to get women accepted as members, but failed.

One of the men they spoke to said that proposals to accept women were vetoed because of fears they might take over administration of the club. “But whether that was just talk or not I don’t know,” she said. Another reason given for failure of the proposals was that wives were afra’d their husbands might go down to t’he club “and not come home” if there were women there. “I wouldn’t mind so much if the thing was called the Canterbury Male Commercial Travellers’ Club.” said Miss Andrews. “We are commercial travellers. Why shouldn’t we join?”

There was a need for such a club to be available to women commercial travellers, she said.

“There are a lot of women working on the road today. Most of them are not married, and want somewhere where they have a chance to meet others with things in common. just as men do. “The men have it; why shouldn't we women?” She said the club’s receptionist had told her of getting calls about twice a week from women wantto join.

“Obviously there are a lot of other women who are interested in it, but we don’t get anywhere if we are not united.”

The association’s president (Mr W. D. Brown) said it had taken remits to its national body asking that women be eiegible to join for the last three years. Each time the proposal had been rejected. The Canterbury association is one of eight groups of the United Commercial Travellers’ and Warehouse-

men’s Association of New Zealand.

According to Mr Brown, the Canterbury association could make its own house rules, have its own executive, and its own constitution. But it was not entitled to flout the national body’s ruling on a matter such as the admittance of women as members. “The rules say that a member must be a commercial traveller or a wholesaler, a male, and aged over 20,” he said. “It is a constitutional rule we cannot change.” He would not agree that if the club’s support *or female membership was as strong as he maintained, it would act independently on the matter. “We welcome women visitors, as long as they are accompanied by a member," he said. “If we don’t support the idea, why would we have taken the remit to our national conference for three years running?” The association would put the remit again at its national conference next year, said Mr Brown.