A #MeToo Sensibility in Workspace for Women

 

ModernWell is a shared workspace in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Outside the building, the city is covered with snow and the temperature is well below freezing.

But ModernWell is warm and inviting¹. Comfortable chairs and footrests surround the warmth of the fireplace. Women work on laptops at tables around the room.

There is not a man to be seen.

That is because ModernWell is one of a growing number of women-only and women-centered workspaces around the country. The increase of such spaces has been linked to the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment³ and similar wrongdoing. The spaces represent a growing desire among many women to build a supportive environment at work that is different from the usual business culture.

Workplaces like ModernWell provide more than just tables, chairs and a coffee maker⁴. They also offer programs, like yoga and other fitness activities, a speakers’ series and writing classes.

Renee Powers is a ModernWell member.

“I think women, especially, are craving⁵ safe spaces...There’s no risk that somebody’s literally⁶ going to sexually harass² me here,” Powers said. She established her business, Feminist⁷ Book Club, at ModernWell.

The biggest shared work space business is The Wing, which opened in 2016 in New York. It has quickly expanded across the country. Its site in San Francisco, California, opened in October. It includes a conference room named for Christine Blasey Ford⁸. She is the woman who spoke⁹ at the Senate confirmation¹⁰ hearing on Supreme¹¹ Court nominee¹² Brett Kavanaugh. She told the Senate that he had sexually attacked her in high school. Kavanaugh denied the claim and was later confirmed to the court.

Membership to one of The Wing spaces costs $2,350 a year. Company spokeswoman Zara Rahim said the business now has more than 6,000 members.

Most of the spaces permit men, but some do not. The Wing faced legal action by a man in Washington, D.C., who said he was discriminated¹³ against. Shortly after, company leaders approved a membership policy that barred sexual identity as a factor in considering admissions. Rahim said the policy was already being developed before the legal action.

The New York City Commission on Human Rights is also investigating The Wing for possible sex discrimination. The company said it is working with the commission.

Another fast-growing space is The Riveter¹⁴, with five sites in Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California. Another is to open in March in Austin, Texas. And this week, The Riveter announced plans to open five more sites in cities including Minneapolis and Atlanta, Georgia.

Amy Nelson established The Riveter and serves as its chief. She said the majority of members are small businesses with just a few employees, or people who work independently.

The price for membership starts at $99 each month.

About 25 percent of The Riveter’s 2,000 members are men, Nelson said. But she said the difference is that “out of the gate, we’re putting women first.”

“I think that we’re seeing a societal shift that isn’t going to go away,” she said. “Women’s voices are being heard.”

The Riveter has brought in famous speakers such as business leader Sheryl Sandberg. It offers activities, such as office hours with a venture capital firm and training on electronics mindfulness or wellness. Such activities set the spaces apart from more general ones, said Steve King of Emergent Research. He studies the future of work and the rise of the independent workforce¹⁵.

ModernWell founder¹⁶ Julie Burton is a writer and wellness teacher. She leads yoga classes at her space, which also offers events such as a classes on writing about one’s personal life.

Burton said her space developed from a women-only writing group she helped form in 2015. After the 2016 presidential election, she said many women she knew were upset. So, she decided¹⁷ to build a business to help women support each other and empower themselves.

“Whether you are out marching or not marching, I felt we had work to do, and I wanted to be part of the work,” she said.

The space has given women from different industries and professions a chance to connect, she said.

That community feeling is what appeals some women, said Jamie Russo, director of the Global Workspace Association. She said shared workspaces are on the rise in general. With that rise, difference spaces have developed to serve different groups.

Research by King’s firm estimated more than 14,000 co-working spaces and 1.7 million members worldwide in 2017. It predicts there will be about 30,000 spaces and 5.1 million members by 2022.

There is little research information about women-centered spaces. Although they are increasing, they are expected to remain a small part of the industry.

Jasna Burza, a life and business coach, has a home office, but likes to do her work at ModernWell. There, she finds a community of women.

On a recent day at ModernWell, Burza said, “I come here, and it’s my happy place.”

I’m Caty Weaver¹⁸.

Words in This Story

harass - v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way?

craving - n. a very strong desire for something?

literally adv. used to stress that a statement or description is true and accurate even though it may be surprising?

factor - n. something that helps produce or influence a result : one of the things that cause something to happen?

out of the gate - expression at or from the beginning?

shift - n. a change in position or direction

venture capital - n. money that is used to start a new business

1 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

2 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

3 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

14 riveter   

打铆机； 铆枪； 铆工

参考例句：

• The riveter riveted the metal sheets to the ship's bottom. 铆工把薄金属板铆在船底上。
• The experiment proved that the recoil force of the electromagnetic riveter has reduced greatly. 通过试验表明，优化后铆枪的后坐力明显减小。

15 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

16 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。