Like the Marines, Do We Need a Few Good Men?: Contesting the Single-Sex Mandate of the YWCA

Sample

After returning from dropping baby Claire off at daycare, Grace took a few minutes to herself and slowly sipped her morning cup of green tea infused with ginger and peppermint. Her physician had told her both herbs helped to calm nerves, and she certainly needed that now. She absent-mindedly drummed her fingers against the file on her kitchen table labeled YWCA Board Notes. In a few hours, she and the other board members of the local Middleton Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) would decide whether to retain, revise, or reject its single-sex mandate—a mandate in place for affiliates around the globe since the inception of the first YWCA in 1855. The single-sex mandate limits official membership to women and girls and prohibits the inclusion of men on boards of directors. It was critical that the board reach its decision today so its two elected delegates could vote on behalf of the Middleton YWCA affiliate at the upcoming annual convention of the YWCA of the U.S.A. This decision was not an easy one for the local board. In fact, during the past three board meetings, members had failed to reach a consensus and the core issues and values at play remained highly contested. Grace left the previous board meetings distracted, finding it difficult to nurse Claire, and unable to eat or sleep herself.