The Wing (workspace)

The Wing is a women-focused, co-working space collective and club with offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and London[1] It was founded by Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan in 2016.[2][3] As of July 2019, the club has about 10,000 members.[4] The Wing has 11 locations in two countries as of 2020.

The Wing
Private
FoundedOctober 2016 (2016-10)
FoundersAudrey Gelman
Lauren Kassan
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Number of locations
11 (2020)
ServicesShared workspaces, events, and related services for women freelancers and entrepreneurs
Websitewww.the-wing.com

The Wing initially only accepted people who identify as women or non-binary, but to comply with non-discrimination laws now accepts people of any gender identity.[5]

After complaints about how The Wing failed to address racist behavior of its members, and an employee walkout, Gelman stepped down as CEO in June 2020.[6]

History

The initial idea for The Wing stemmed from Audrey Gelman's desire for a space to change and relax between business meetings as she lived in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, but worked in SoHo, Manhattan, and in Washington, D.C. The first title for this not-yet-created space was Refresh. When Gelman and Lauren Kassan began working together, they decided "The Wing" was a more fitting name, since it would represent a "wing" of the users' home away from their actual home. When developing this idea, the two decided to focus on creating a space where women can feel safe and supported.[7][8]

In October 2016, Gelman and Kassan founded The Wing in New York City's Flatiron District, on the Ladies' Mile. The company raised $2.4 million from majority women seed investors including SoulCycle's Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler and Birchbox's Hayley Barna.[9] The Wing closed its Series A funding round led by early-stage venture firm New Enterprise Associates in April 2017. The company raised $8 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins and BBG Ventures.[10] They subsequently opened another branch in a loft in SoHo.[11]

In November 2017, The Wing completed a Series B round led by WeWork. The company raised an additional $32 million bringing their total investment to $42 million.[12][13] During 2018, The Wing opened new spaces in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn (its third New York City location) in January;[12][14][15] in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in April;[8] and in San Francisco, California, in October.[16][17] The Washington, D.C., facility includes a booth dedicated to law professor Anita Hill while the San Francisco space has a conference room dedicated to psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford.[18] At the end of 2018, The Wing announced it would offer on-site childcare services, The Little Wing, as part of the expansion of its SoHo location.[19][20]

On March 1, 2018, the New York City Commission on Human Rights started a "commission-initiated" investigation[21] into how The Wing membership system operates. At that time, The Wing did not allow men even as guests of members (unlike two other New York City women's clubs noted by The New York Times – Colony and Cosmopolitan), though it did hire some men such as plumbers and electricians.[22] In June 2018, James E. Pietrangelo says a employee of The Wing told him his application would be automatically denied because he was a man.[23] Pietrangelo, a man described by TechCrunch as "the dictionary definition of litigious",[24] filed a lawsuit in August 2018, which claimed that The Wing's policy violated the District of Columbia's Human Right Act. The Wing responded that prior to August 30, 2018, it had an unwritten policy of only accepting women (including transgender women) and gender non-binary people. The company adopted a formal written policy that took effect in September of that year which accepts members regardless of gender identity. The company says it only accepts about 8% of applicants – those who it judges to be committed to its mission – and that only 12 out of about 26,000 applicants were men.[23] The New York City Commission's investigation ended after the adoption of a formal policy allowing membership to people of any identity.[25]

In December 2018, the company closed a $75-million Series C led by Sequoia Capital, including investors Upfront Ventures, Airbnb, and others.[26] Among the investors were leaders of the Time's Up movement including Valerie Jarrett, Robbie Kaplan, Katie McGrath, Hilary Rosen, and Kerry Washington.[27][28] At the time, The Wing had raised a total of $117.5 million in funding since its founding.[29] In April 2019, The Wing opened its sixth location at the Fulton Market District in Chicago, Illinois.[30] The same month, The Wing opened a seventh location on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California.[31][32] The West Hollywood location became the second location with an area for children.[32][33] The location also has a sound-proof screening room and film-themed phone booths names after Princess Leia from Star Wars, C.J. Cregg of The West Wing, Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice.[31]

The Wing's eighth location opened in June 2019 in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts.[1][33] The first draft of subway ads for this new location were rejected by the MBTA for touching on "political issues or matters of public debate" and being potentially demeaning to a group of people (in this case, men). The rejected ads included the slogans "The World was built for men. The Wing is built for you." and "Want to mute the mansplainers and start your own conversation?"[34][35] The Wing's headquarters opened in the former Stuyvesant Polyclinic in East Village, Manhattan, the same month, occupying all 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2) of the clinic building. At the time, The Wing vacated its SoHo location.[36] Its first international location and ninth overall opened in Fitzrovia, London, in October 2019.[37][38] Another Manhattan location, near Bryant Park, opened that December, making it The Wing's fourth location in New York City and its tenth location overall.[39]

A location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, opened in February 2020.[40] Gelman stepped down as CEO that June, in response to employees' complaints about their treatment by members and higher-up staff.

Operations

Membership costs can range between $185 to $215 per month for access to a single location and $250 for full access to all locations.[41][42] In May 2018, The Wing announced it would begin offering scholarships to cover membership fees for a selected few applicants. The scholarships will be "aimed at individuals who are currently underrepresented in their member pool and who are working to advance the position of women and girls in society — specifically, those in the fields of teaching, nonprofit, social services, and advocacy."[43] The company offered free two-year memberships including professional mentorship at its various locations in 2018.[44]

The Wing's network includes more than 10,000 members.[4] In August 2018, The Wing launched an app that allows members to connect digitally, sign in guests, and register for events.[45]

The company employs about 300 people at its various locations. In August 2018, The Wing announced that it would convert the majority of its hourly workers to full-time employees with benefits. This included giving their remaining part-time employees medical benefits, stock options, and increasing their wages to at least $16.50 per hour.[28][46]

In November 2017, The Wing launched a bi-annual magazine named No Man's Land. The inaugural edition of the magazine featured interviews with musician Remy Ma, publisher Tavi Gevinson, and a cover story featuring actress Hari Nef.[12][47] The magazine's second issue featured comedian Jessica Williams on the cover.[42] No Man's Land was also the name of The Wing's podcast hosted by Alexis Coe. The podcast's six-episode first season featured what they described as "women who were too bad for your textbooks."[48] Episodes have focused on Stephanie St. Clair, a leader of a Harlem-based criminal syndicate; Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American artist;[49] and Ida B. Wells, a journalist and early leader in the Civil Rights Movement.[48]

Workplace criticism

Journalist Amanda Hess reported that many women were drawn to seek employment at The Wing, "eager to work in beautiful spaces and in the company of women."[50] Most of the current and former employees she interviewed were excited to begin but became disillusioned. Receptionists and event staff did not expect their jobs to include cleaning duties.[50] At Wing events, employees might "find themselves to be the only black women in the room," where members and their guests "could be casually racist."[50] Salaried employees were often expected to work extra unpaid hours, while hourly wage employees could not get as much work as they wanted.[50] A spokeswoman said The Wing had always "maintained employment best practices," and CEO Audrey Gelman said that these concerns were being addressed by raising wages, increasing employee benefits, instituting a code of conduct for members, and changing the organizational structure.[50]

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References
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  2. Jacobs, Sarah (March 1, 2018). "The exclusive no-men-allowed club that raised $32 million from investors like WeWork just opened a brand new location — take a look inside". Business Insider. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  3. "The Wing Investigation: Can a private members' club in New York really be inclusive? — Quartzy". Qz.com. 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  4. Osterheldt, Jeneé (July 31, 2019). "Can a black woman fly at The Wing?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. Clark, Kate. "Women's co-working space The Wing adjusts membership policy to allow all genders". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. Rosman, Katherine (2017-11-11). "The Wing, a Chic Women's Club, Is Going Wide". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  8. McCarthy, Ellen (2018-04-10). "Is 'The Wing' too hopelessly Manhattan for the working women of Washington?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  9. O'Connor, Clare (2016-11-08). "Inside The Wing: How Cofounders Raised $2.4M To Open All-Women Social And Coworking Club". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  10. O'Connor, Clare (2017-04-05). "Women's Club The Wing Raises $8 Million Series A, Adds 3 Locations". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
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  23. J.K. Trotte (2019-01-07). "Women's club The Wing quietly dropped its practice of banning men after a man filed a $12 million gender discrimination lawsuit".
  24. "Women's co-working space The Wing adjusts membership policy to allow all genders". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  25. Johnston, Katie (2019-06-17). "Women's co-working space The Wing comes to Boston - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
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  27. Hinchliffe, Emma (2018-12-19). "The Wing's Next Move? Sequoia's Jess Lee, Time's Up Backers, and $75 Million". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  28. Griffin, Riley (2018-12-19). "The Wing Gets $75 Million to Expand Its Working Women Collective". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  29. Raphael, Rina (2018-12-19). "The Wing just raised another $75M, for a total of $117.5M in two years". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  30. Freund, Sara (2019-04-03). "Local design ties The Wing's first Chicago coworking space to the city". Curbed Chicago. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  31. Weinberg, Lindsay (2019-04-18). "The Wing Lands in Los Angeles". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  32. Stuart, Gwynedd (2019-04-18). "The Wing Is Finally Open in L.A.—Here's What You Need to Know". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
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  34. Kate Flaim (June 14, 2019). "The Wing Lands in Boston and Finds an Advertising Double Standard".
  35. Too Hot For The T? Here Are Some Of The Ads The MBTA Rejected
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