Co-working space for women expands
The Wing opening location in Toronto
TORON TO • A co- working space f or women t hat ’ s drawn the ardour of thousands of Instagrammers and the attention of celebs including Jennifer Lawrence and Lena Dunham is set to expand to Canada.
The Wing, a New Yorkbased networking and social club, says Toronto is among the six new locations joining its burgeoning pastel- hued chain.
The female- focused company is part of a wave of modern sororities geared to female entrepreneurs, merging a fierce can- do motto with feminist ideals tailormade for a generation of selfstarters.
It joins several other Canadian ventures that similarly put career women in their sightlines, i ncluding Toronto’s exclusive Verity Club and its luxury spa, the coworking and wellness space Shecosystem with its yoga classes and Madonna dance parties, and the pretty and perky penthouse space Make Lemonade. Other spaces include Montreal’s LORI hub, which stands for Ladies of Real Influence.
“It’s important to have the space where we all feel comfortable and that this is ours, that we have ownership as well,” Rachel Kelly, Make Lemonade’s founder and owner, says of her inspiration.
“If you start exploring a couple of the co- working spaces you’ll notice there is quite a male-dominated culture in a lot of these spaces and that presence is quite overpowering,” she adds.
“Just the overall vibe — the bro vibe — is a big thing.”
The Wing’s promotional material i ncludes the taglines: “A home base for women on their way,” “Your throne away from home” and “Say goodbye to the old boys’ club.”
It was founded by PR exec Audrey Gelman and business partner Lauren Kassan, and was inspired by the women’s social clubs of the early 20th century.
It launched in Manhattan’s Flatiron district in October 2016, expanding to SoHo a year later. Then came a third spot in the DUMBO neighbourhood of Brooklyn in February, and a fourth heads to Washington D. C. this spring.
All locations are created by an all- female design and architecture team and feature a menu of food, wine and cocktails created by female chefs, sommeliers and mixologists. There are also showers and lactation rooms.
The Wing says its first Canadian outpost is slated to open in early 2019, the address yet to be determined.
Other new locations include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Williamsburg (Brooklyn), and London.
There certainly appears to be demand in Canada.
Entrepreneur Kim Kirton, 22, says she joined Make Lemonade after souring on more traditional co-working spaces.
“Sometimes I would feel uncomfortable just worki ng, j ust the way people would kind of look at me,” says Kirton. “( Men were) just coming up and usually asking, ‘ Oh, what are your plans today?’ or, ‘ What are you doing after work?’ versus ‘ Oh, what do you do for work?’”
Kirton doesn’t suggest she’s experienced any misconduct, stressing her concerns were primarily focused on finding the best place to run her online wardrobe business, UnCo.
“I have a startup here in the city and I’m trying to be like every other entrepreneur and trying to grow my business.”
Although no members are men, Kelly says they’re certainly welcome to join Make Lemonade, as long as they adhere to an “inclusivity mandate” that bans “sexist, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, classist or otherwise discriminatory language.”
Since launching in Sept ember, Kelly says she’s drawn 80 members in various fields including editing, food, publishing, law, fashion and tech. In addition to workspaces, she offers mentoring, workshops and mixers.
But some question whether women- targeted initiatives are the answer.
Sarah Kaplan, director of the Institute for Gender + the Economy at the University of Toronto, worries they push women to the sidelines, instead of levelling the field.
“I’m not a big fan, personally, of cloistered solutions,” she says. “I’m sure it will satisfy the needs of some people who feel like it’s just a more pleasant or safer ( place) or more conducive to the kind of work that they want to do. But is this a huge market opportunity because women are so different from men? No. It’s just because the world of work is so gendered masculine that I think the only solution people can come up with is to cloister and I don’t think that’s the right solution.
“I think we have to change the world of work. But that’s a bigger project.”