I think that statement is a little underfactualized. In the U.S., private clubs and religious groups can both legally discriminate by gender. The Civil Rights Act protections apply to public-facing businesses. And generally speaking, legal protections in the U.S. are by class, not with specifically enumerated members of a class, so the "particularly white men" notion is not really accurate when it comes to employment protections, although I imagine you were thinking about affirmative action or similar policies at universities.