In 2016, The Wing opened its doors in New York’s Flatiron district. The workspace and club offers all the usual of a modern coworking setup – open-plan office space, events, networking – with one major difference: only women may apply.
Audrey Gelman, cofounder and CEO, says she was inspired by the history of women’s clubs in the US in the late 19th and early 20th century. “Women’s clubs played a pivotal role in at certain times of social and political change, specifically around suffrage,” she says. “Here we are 100 years later, amidst times of social and political change – we hope to be a resource and a haven for women living today.”
Since launch, The Wing has opened a second location in the New York’s Soho and has a waiting list of members hoping to join. In November, it raised a $32 million series B funding round, led by coworking giant WeWork. Memberships start at $215 a month.
Though The Wing opened its first space a week before the election of Donald Trump, Gelman points to the resulting political climate as a reason for the current interest for women’s spaces. Having previously worked in politics – including on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign – she says she didn’t want to push politics on The Wing’s members, but found that many of them were keen to get involved. They organised a trip to the Women’s March in Washington, DC, and hold regular events with a political theme, such as a workshop on running for office.
“We didn’t know that Donald Trump was going to win – I don’t think many people did - but we’ve been responsive to requests from our members to provide them with more programs and opportunities to get more politically engaged,” says Gelman.
There are other women-only professional spaces across the US, and the trend now appears to be crossing the Atlantic, with several initiatives setting up in the UK.
The AllBright, a members’ club associated with the women-led funding initiative of the same name, is set to open next year in London’s upscale Fitzrovia district. It isn’t intended as a full-time coworking space like The Wing, but more of a social club where professional women can hold meetings, attend events, or just hang out. Membership costs £600 a year plus a £250 joining fee, with the first sign-ups including businesswoman Martha Lane Fox and actor Naomie Harris.
The fundamental idea, says Anna Jones, cofounder of AllBright, is to provide a physical space that allows women to collaborate and network in comfort, without being outnumbered or overshadowed by men.
“Quite often when you have a mixed environment, men tend to dominate discussions and women tend to hold back,” she says. “In a female environment, women are more likely to speak up, share experiences, talk about their successes, and be a bit more open and honest about some of the challenges that they face – because frankly, it’s quite hard to be the only woman in the room.”
The decision to open a physical space, says Jones, was inspired by feedback from women at AllBright events. “The women who attended these events talked to us about how much they enjoyed them and how they wished there was somewhere they could meet regularly to spend time with other women and network in way that doesn’t feel forced.”
Gelman agrees that having a bricks-and-mortar space for women to come together is important. “I go to dinners sometimes with other women to talk about what’s going on in the world, but when those dinners end, everyone goes home and gets consumed with whatever else is going on in their lives, and it’s hard to have that follow-through,” she says. “The Wing opens every day and I think the symbol of having something permanent is important to build a really meaningful community.” Gelman says that London “will probably be one of the first cities that [The Wing] looks to expand to.”
These clubs clearly aren’t for everyone; both The Wing and The AllBright are geared towards a high-end clientele and are heavy on glamour, with prices that will be inaccessible to many. They are feminine in aesthetic, each boasting a beauty room; The Wing’s is stocked with Chanel.
Meanwhile, other women-only spaces are also beginning to crop up that target different fields and offer different facilities. We Heart Mondays, a small women-only workspace in East London that opened in October and offers flexible desk space starting at £24.99 a month, caters primarily to the creative industries, with initial members including journalists, bloggers and PRs.
Layla Rivelino started the space with business partner Andre Sinclair after being inspired by American female-focused podcasts such as Goal Digger and All Up in Your Lady Business. “I just wanted to create somewhere over here where women could come together, network, make friendships, have somewhere comfortable to work where they could just be themselves really,” she says.
Having worked in social media and event planning, she also saw the opportunity to use We Heart Mondays to host sponsored events. The open-plan workspace has exposed brick walls with white décor, accessorised with flowers and cupcakes – “A lot of people walk in and say ‘Instagrammable,’” says Rivelino. A smaller room can be used for meetings, and several members have used it as a location to film YouTube videos.
Like Gelman, Rivelino says the political climate is a catalyst for members to come together. “I think even things like the pay gap have affected things a lot,” she says. “I think women want to do something to change that and I think the best way to do that is to take hold of what you're doing and perhaps work with like-minded people to grow even further.”
Read more: What men in tech can do to address terrible gender inequality
All of the founders suggest that women-only spaces have a different feel to regular coworking spaces or social clubs that makes the women who use them feel more welcome. As Gelman puts it, “The world is a men’s club.”
Jones cites widespread revelations of sexual harassment, characterised in the #MeToo campaign, as another reason women may feel more comfortable in women-only spaces. As more women get into professional careers, she says, there’s a hunger to collaborate.
“I think women are starting to think that we need change, we want things to improve, and how can we help each other?” she says. “This idea that you have to be some sort of power bitch to succeed is just so old-fashioned.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
