Burk, Martha 1941–

(Martha Gertrude Burk)

PERSONAL: Born October 18, 1941, in Tyler, TX; daughter of Ivan Lee Burk (an oil company engineer) and Dorothy May Dean (a dress-business owner); married Eddie C. Talley (a pharmacist), September 2, 1960 (divorced, 1985); married Ralph Estes (a professor), 1986; children: (first marriage) Edward, Mark. Education: University of Houston, B.S., 1962; University of Texas at Arlington, M.S., 1968, Ph.D., 1974.

ADDRESSES: Office—National Council of Women's Organizations, 1050 17th St., NW, Ste. 250, Washington, DC 20036.

CAREER: Licensed psychologist. University of Texas at Arlington, research director of Graduate School of Social Work, 1974–76, assistant professor of management, 1976–79; A.U. Software, Inc., Wichita, KS, cofounder and partner, 1981–90; Center for the Advancement of Public Policy, cofounder, president, 1990. National Organization for Women, former president of Wichita chapter and member, national board of directors, 1988–90; National Council of Women's Organizations, Washington, DC, chair; National Task Force on Pay Equity, member, 1993. Guest on television and radio programs, including Today Show, Lou Dobbs Moneyline, CNN Financial, Bloomberg News, Crossfire, and News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Consultant on discrimination prevention. Member of official U.S. delegations to international conferences in Iceland, Lithuania, Estonia, and China.

AWARDS, HONORS: Named among Women of the Year, Ms. magazine, 2003.

WRITINGS:

Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done about It (nonfiction), Scribner (New York, NY), 2005.

Syndicated columnist. Contributor to periodicals, including Louisville Courier Journal, Los Angeles Daily News, Ms. Magazine, Working Woman, Business Woman, and Washington Post. Editorial advisor, Ms.

SIDELIGHTS: Martha Burk is a women's rights activist who attracted national attention when she challenged the men-only membership policy of the Augusta National Golf Club in 2002. The elite club, located in Georgia, annually hosts the prestigious Masters Tournament, so Burk's accusation that the association was guilty of discrimination was headline news. Her cause touched off a storm of media coverage that lasted for months. Burk did not succeed in forcing Augusta National to change its policy, but she looked at the situation positively nevertheless, predicting that her actions would, at least, generate more consciousness on the issue. Burk shared her views and ideas about discrimination in Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done about It, published in 2005.

Burk grew up in Pasadena, Texas. A top student, she finished high school at the age of sixteen, then married and had children while earning her bachelor's degree. As the years went by, she became increasingly dissatisfied with her roles as wife and mother, and returned to school. She eventually earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology, yet as she conducted her job search, her experiences convinced her that male applicants had a decided advantage over females. Burk eventually developed an educational software program that became the foundation for her own company—a company so successful that she was able to resign from her teaching position and devote herself full-time to political activism.

Burk's first marriage ended in divorce, and she later married Ralph Estes, an accounting professor with a strong political bent. The couple moved to Wichita, where Burk became head of the local chapter of the National Organization for Women. In 1990, the couple moved to Washington, DC, where they established the Center for the Advancement of Public Policy, which seeks to eliminate prejudice, sexism, and discrimination in the workplace, government, and other organizations. Burk also became chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), an umbrella entity that takes in more than 200 women's groups.

When Burk read an article about the Augusta National's mens-only membership around the time of the 2002 Masters Tournament, she was annoyed enough to write to the club's president, William W. "Hootie" Johnson, chiding him for the club's ban on women and urging him to do away with it. The Augusta Club is one of the most elite private clubs in the United States, with a membership that includes some of the most powerful business leaders in the country. Women may only play on the course at the invitation of a member. Johnson not only replied to her letter, he released a statement to the media about it, stating in part that women would one day be asked to join the club, but that the club would not be dictated to by outside interests. Burk was soon caught up in a media frenzy and bombarded with requests for interviews. The NCWO began to pressure CBS, the television network broadcasting the tournament, to use its influence in the matter, and a letter-writing campaign was begun to media sponsors and members of the club.

Burk and Johnson exchanged harsh words in the press for several months. The Augusta National eventually released CBS and tournament sponsors from their contracts for the 2003 Masters Tournament, creating a twenty-million-dollar shortfall in broadcasting costs that the club agreed to cover. After Burk announced her intention to stage protests when the tournament was held. The local sheriff refused to grant the NCWO a permit to protest outside the main gates of the club, so these demonstrations took place a half-mile up the road. Despite the uproar, Augusta National remained a mens-only club. A federal court later ruled that there was no reason to force the protests away from the main gates, giving NCWO the right to stage new protests for future tournaments. NCWO also began investigating gender-bias claims at companies whose executives belong to Augusta National, acting on their belief that the sex discrimination at the club extends to many of the businesses where members work. In 2005, this effort resulted in a class action lawsuit against the Smith-Barney division of Citigroup.

In Cult of Power Burk analyzes the reasons why there are so few women in the top ranks of the power elite, and offers concrete solutions to correct the problem. Though the author has been accused by some of being unreasonable in her demands, her book shows that Burk is "no ideologue," reported a writer for Kirkus Reviews. "Rather, she evenhandedly addresses all the important questions…. She strikes a perfect balance between the personal and impersonal, seeming variously tough, feisty, and self-critical, yet conveying all these qualities through the most occasional asides." In addition, a Publishers Weekly critic stated, "With a terrific story on which to hang her recommendations, Burk achieves a rare hybrid of activism and entertainment."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Newsmakers, Issue 1, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2005, Barbara Jacobs, review of Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done about It, p. 1249.

Broadcasting & Cable, March 21, 2005, "Burk Plans Golf Outing," p. 6.

Columbia Daily Tribune (Columbia, MO), April 1, 2005, Nate Carlisle, "Activist Touts Women's Issues."

Golf World, April 23, 2004, Ryan Herrington, "Thirteenth-Hour Ruling: While Not in Time to Affect the '04 Masters, a Federal Court Agrees Martha Burk's '03 Protest Was Illegally Restricted," p. 7; August 6, 2004, "Burk Gets Last Laugh on Augusta," p. 9; August 27, 2004, Ron Sirak, "Golf & Sexism: Sources Say Female Employees at the PGA Tour Ask NCWO to Look into Tour's Equal Opportunity Practices," p. 5.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2005, review of Cult of Power, p. 29.

Miami Herald, April 12, 2005.

Orlando Sentinel, February 14, 2005, Myriam Marquez, "Lesson from Carly Fiorina: Women Have a Long Way to Go."

PR Newswire, February 10, 2005, "Burk Says Gender a Factor in Fiorina Firing"; March 31, 2005, "Martha Burk Comments on New Wall Street Sex Bias Suit."

Publishers Weekly, March 7, 2005, review of Cult of Power, p. 63.

UPI NewsTrack, October 26, 2004, "Burk Calls on Coors to Resign Augusta."

UPI Perspectives, February 3, 2005, Jackie L. Franzil, "Businesswomen Gather on Capitol Hill,"; April 7, 2005, Dar Haddix, "Martha Burk Targets Masters Sponsors."

ONLINE

Center for Individual Freedom Web site, http://cfif.org/ (October 3, 2002), "Martha Burk Is out of Bounds in Attack on Augusta."

Hall of Hypocrisy Online, http://www.augustadiscriminates.org/ (July 7, 2005), "About Martha Burk."

Intellectual Conservative Online, http://www.intellectualconservative.com/ (April 23, 2004), Carey Roberts, "Martha Burk's Holy War on Corporate America."

Martha Burk Home Page, http://www.marthaburk.org (July 7, 2005).