Female co-working spaces redefine modern networking
Welcome to a time where “The Future is Female” is more than a T-shirt slogan. Today powerful women are coming together to expand on the momentum that has been building of late; they are creating dynamic networking opportunities for women to grow, inspire and connect.
In cities like New York, London and Los Angeles women’s co-working and networking spaces are being established by female entrepreneurs who want to provide a place for women to collaborate and exchange ideas. Audrey Gelman, cofounder of the “co-working coven” The Wing, explains that in their all-female environment there is an absence of competitiveness — it is a space to brand together and work in comfort. Anna Jones, cofounder of the London-based networking club The AllBright, adds that “quite often when you have a mixed environment, men tend to dominate discussions and women tend to hold back.” While Gelman does not agree that men necessarily hold women back, the primary goal is the same — to create a natural habitat for women to connect and collaborate on a regular basis.
These co-working spaces bear resemblance to women-only social clubs that were first established in the late 19th and early 20th century, in protest of clubs restricted to male memberships. Gelman points out that women’s clubs have played a key role in times of social and political turmoil, particularly with regard to suffrage. Drawing comparisons to today’s sociopolitical landscape, she hopes that The Wing can be “a resource and a haven for women living today.”
The day-to-day operations of these networking spaces vary. The Wing, which was first established in New York in 2016, offers office spaces, a calendar of empowering events as well as amenities designed with women’s needs in mind. While The Wing is a full-time co-working space, The AllBirght can be considered more of a social club: a space for women to host meetings, attend curated events and exhibitions, and make use of treatment rooms to recharge. The California based WMN Space similarly offers women the opportunity to become part of a powerful community. Less of a co-working space and more a place dedicated to healing and support, WMN Space is a wellness center offering meditation classes, workshops and women’s gatherings. Founder Paula Mallis explains that her vision was to “create a wellness hub that allows women to recharge and amplify their energy in order to be of more service in the world.”
The aforementioned networking spaces primarily cater to high-end professionals with membership fees that aren’t for everyone. We Heart Mondays, as an alternative, offers flexible office spaces in East London at a more affordable rate. The women-only space is targeted toward creative professionals, such as bloggers and journalists. Founder Layla Rivelino wanted to create a place where “women could come together, network, make friendships, have somewhere comfortable to work where they could just be themselves.” By providing brick-and-mortar spaces for daily networking, these co-working hubs are hoping to generate the conditions for women to be creative, work, encourage and grow together to accomplish goals — and ultimately achieve a stronger, female-driven society filled with girl bosses.
So what sparked this movement? Recent times have seen a shift in the way women are coming together, triggered by revelations of inequality and sexual harassment, and driven by social media. Jones looks to the #MeToo movement, and what it represents, as a possible explanation for why women are embracing all-female spaces. She says there is a “hunger to collaborate” as more women are taking on professional careers. On a similar note, Mallis remarks how women are starting to realize just how much can be achieved when working together, inspiring and supporting each other. “You saw it at the marches — women from all over feel this pull to connect, because when we’re together, magic happens,” she declares. And the appeal is tremendous — The Wing’s membership waiting list is reputedly thousands of names long, with a fourth location opening in Washington DC later this spring.
From virtual feminist-first communities on social media to physical co-working covens — modern networking is being redefined. The growing market for female co-working hubs demonstrates that the time has come to embrace fellow women as allies, not competitors. It is the time to empower and inspire, and women’s co-working spaces are providing just the place to so.
