TO THE EDITOR:
The demise of golf in the corporate world is not something to be mourned, but to be celebrated (“Fundraisers in the tall grass,” Jamie Butters, autonews.com, July 31). It was (is?) one of those insidious, invisible barriers that helped propel cisgender, white, heteronormative men into positions of power while excluding those who didn’t quite fit into the mold. In addition, it really had nothing to do with the professionalism or competence of the individual in their work environment.
I’m a white gay male, and the last time I played golf was in 1992, when I was 30. I had none of the talent for it but took lessons to prepare for a few games with the partners at my firm so at the very least I wouldn’t embarrass myself. I was delighted when the firm stopped doing golf outings in 1995.
If you think my opinion is extreme, imagine if a way to career progression in the automotive industry required an individual to go to a nail salon and get their nails done and bedazzled with colleagues once a month. Wouldn’t we think that odd?
Then why not golf?
DENIS CAGNA, Los Angeles The writer assists automakers in back-office accounting technology and systems development.