The first woman to become a member of the Gridiron Club was Helen Thomas, in 1975. Until then, the exclusive club of Washington, D.C. journalists had stuck to its membership policy of admitting only men.
After years of feminist protest, Helen Thomas was initiated as the first female Gridiron Club member at the annual gala dinner, on March 22, 1975.
Setting a new precedent for the club, the wives of the president and vice-president attended the 1975 dinner with their husbands. Former First Lady Betty Ford was the wife of President Gerald Ford, and Margaretta "Happy" Rockefeller was the wife of Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller.