Adopted by the Lodge’s Board of Trustees, this statement is part of our bylaws.
Inherent in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks’ cardinal virtue of Brotherly Love, we support a culture of mutual respect regardless of gender, race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, military service, disability, or age. We celebrate the diversity of our membership and put their talents and energy to work in the Order’s charitable mission.
We’re committed to a safe environment, free of discrimination and harassment, and we require every member to act in a way consistent with that commitment. As members of the Order, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States, and we hold ourselves to federal and state equal employment standards even though we’re a private club — no sexual harassment and no discriminatory conduct, verbal, physical, or otherwise, tolerated on Lodge property.
This statement was first written in 2019 by a Lodge trustee working to update outdated assumptions about who the Elks are for, and it was updated to explicitly address harassment and discrimination in meetings and hiring. Denver #17 admitted its first women members in 1995. Read more about that history on our History of the Elks page.