Tiger Woods will be starting his 2011 PGA season in San Diego at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, but thanks to NCFM, the tournament’s Women’s Day event has been renamed Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise.

One of NCFM’s banks, Torrey Pines Bank, was a sponsor of Women’s Day which was advertised in a large ad in the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper.  Promotional materials were distributed elsewhere, including the tournament’s website.

After becoming aware of Women’s Day, NCFM contacted Torrey Pines Bank and requested more information.  Because NCFM is a bank customer, the bank offered NCFM free tickets. NCFM made no mention of its concerns about Women’s Day seemingly discriminating against men.

The bank told NCFM that men were allowed to attend the Women’s Day event.  However, because  of the event’s name, theme, and all-female guest-speakers, one of who was District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, men were seemingly not invited or at least deterred from attending.   We felt it would be unwise for San Diego’s top law enforcement official to participate in an event which violates the spirit, if not the letter, of California’s anti-sex discrimination laws, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

NCFM wrote the attached letter expressing its concerns to the president of its bank, the CEO for Farmers’ Insurance, the president of the PGA, and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

Tom Wilson, the attorney for the golf tournament, quickly called and wrote NCFM admitting it was a mistake to host a Women’s Day event that appeared to exclude men, and Mr. Wilson informed NCFM the name of the event would be changed to the all-inclusive “Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise.”  Related information on this PGA tournament’s website was being changed during this conversation.  Mr. Wilson had been involved with Unruh Act litigation and was rightly concerned NCFM would file a lawsuit to put an end to Women’s Day.

But we assured Mr. Wilson we were thankful for his quick attention to NCFM’s concerns, his and the others’ willingness to take corrective action, and his assurance that the Farmers Insurance Open will never again have a Women’s Day.

This is another example of NCFM’s success in educating society about treating men and women equally; and, stopping gender discrimination against men.   And it helps having California’s most knowledgeable Unruh Act attorney, Al Rava, on our Board of Directors.

01-04-Farmers Insurance all documents Click the link on the left to see the ad and read the correspondence.

Harry Crouch, President NCFM