The Woman's National Democratic Club, born in 1922 of the suffrage movement, voted Wednesday to grant its male members the right to vote. Outgoing club President Jean R. Jensen said it was ironic that men now seek full membership in clubs founded to give women a say in what once was the male world of politics. ``Perhaps it is a measure of our success that women's clubs are being asked to include men,'' she said. Club members agreed by voice vote and without dissent to give men full membership status. The organization has nearly 2,000 members, of whom 85 are men who, as associate members, could participate in all ways except that they could not head committees, become officers or vote. Ms. Jensen said that while the men have enjoyed the ``business and networking opportunities'' that come with socializing and participating in activities at the club's stately mansion, they have been slow to volunteer to work on projects and committees. ``We'll have to work on the men to get them more involved,'' she said. The club's decision to grant men full membership status comes on the heels of votes by Washington's exclusive Metropolitan and Cosmos clubs to end their men-only policies. In addition, the Supreme Court this month upheld a New York City law that bars discimination against women and minorities by large, private clubs where business deals often are arranged. Ms. Jensen said the decision of the woman's club to admit men was unrelated, and had been approved by the organization's governing board in April as part of a year-long project to revise the club's bylaws. John F. Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University who had filed discrimination complaints against the Cosmos, Metropolitan and Democratic Woman's clubs, welcomed the latest vote, saying ``they're falling like 10-pins.'' He said that while he was less concerned about the potential discriminatory impact of women-only clubs than about men-only organizations, ``you've got to have sauce for the goose and sauce for the gander.'' The woman's club's activities include sponsoring trips, seminars, conferences, speaker luncheons and dinners, providing volunteers for various Democratic campaigns and developing position papers on issues.
