Alice*, a former accountant, accepts more easily that people might “just enjoy golf”. “Most of the boys I worked with played golf on the weekends and went on golf holidays,” she says. What’s in it for the partners and the clients who play with them? “It’s about reclaiming that old boys’ club mentality,” says Katy*, a lawyer at a silver circle firm. On the surface, there’s never been a better time for women to be in corporate careers: and the relationship works both ways, with research showing that women overall make better investors and generate higher returns at financial firms (World Economic Forum). But the reality is more murky, and golf has survived as one of the untouchable weapons in the finance bro’s arsenal (today still, only 11 percent of FTSE 100 companies in the UK have female CEOs). “I do think [golf] meant I had some colleagues who spend more time with people more senior to me,” Alice says of her time in accounting. “And also noticed the male partners forged friendships through golf in a way the female partners didn’t.” “Golf also creates a huge advantage for British and American guys in particular,” Camilla adds. (And, going by the A&R’s research, those from South Korea, Japan and Canada too.)
