Finance: 8,000 people are on a waitlist to join this women-only co-working space and club — here's what it's like inside

The Wing is a club and co-working space for women with 1,500 members and a huge waitlist.

• The Wing is a female-only co-working space and club with two locations in New York City.
• Their newest location, which is in SoHo, provides its members with desks, a beauty room, space to nap, meeting rooms, a library, and a cafe.
• 8,000 women are on the waiting list for membership to The Wing.

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When The Wing, a co-working space and social club for women, launched in October 2016, its founders, Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan, didn't realize how large the demand for membership would be — or exactly the type of comfort it would provide its members.

In the months before the 2016 presidential election, Gelman, who has past experience working in politics, said she believed Hillary Clinton would win.

"This was [going to be] the golden age of women in power, so women could have rooms like this," she told Business Insider, gesturing around The Wing.

"It was sort of a triumphant concept."

"Obviously that's not what happened," Kassan said. Overnight, after President Donald Trump's victory, The Wing was inundated with calls from members and people on the waitlist, who, according to Kassan, were saying, "I didn't realize how much I wanted or needed a space like this."

Now, the club has 1,500 members and an 8,000-person waiting list for its two open locations. It also plans to launch two more spaces: one in Brooklyn and one in Washington, DC.

With a focus on growing a community between its members, the club provides more than a place to set up your laptop. Speaking events, community volunteer opportunities, movie screenings, and happy hours provide a home base for its members to build relationships.

We got a tour of the new SoHo space on its opening day — and it was already buzzing with members.

Gelman realized she needed a space like The Wing while working a job that had her on the go on a daily basis. Instead of changing outfits for events and meetings in "random bathrooms around the city," Gelman envisioned a space designed with her needs in mind.

The Wing's spacious bathrooms, showers, lockers, and beauty room — pictured here — provide women with a safe space to prep and primp for their day.

Kassan, who is the COO, saw an opportunity to create a community. "For me it's really about the community that can come out of this space. The original idea of having a space of convenience — but also creating a space that you can meet new women in," she said.

Gelman, who was a junior aide during Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential run and, later, a spokesperson for New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, sees The Wing as a natural progression from her political career.

Source: The New York Times

"[The Wing] was sort of adjacent to politics in the sense that it had a mission, and I don't think we realized how crucial that mission was going to become. I love getting to do this right now because it's advancing the values and issues that I care about, but doing it outside of politics," Gelman said.

The 10,000-square-foot space has two meeting rooms that can be rented out by members.

There's also a nap room for those who need a moment of quiet.

The pump room for nursing mothers also provides a quiet, private space.

A café and bar provide various breakfast items, sandwiches, and coffee.

Large skylights and high ceilings create a bright and airy atmosphere.

These eight private telephone booths were added to the second location following member demand.

Past the noisy café area is the quiet library space filled with books. Curated by The Strand — another women-owned business — the collection is made up entirely of books by female authors.

As far as the membership base, Gelman and Kassan aim to keep it diverse. "We look at membership in terms of diversity: career, racial, and ethnic diversity, age diversity, and usage diversity to make sure not everyone is coming at the exact same time," Kassan said.

"[Our members are] women who are teachers, physicians, women in tech, fashion and marketing. Also, we have a microbiologist, a woman who is an aerospace engineer, and someone getting her PhD in scent technology," Gelman said.

Prices for The Wing start at an annual $2,350 for access to a single location, or $215 a month. To access all locations, the price is $2,700 annually or $250 monthly.

According to Gelman, new membership tiers and scholarship opportunities are in the works and will be announced in the first quarter of 2018.

"There's been demand that we didn't anticipate, which is humbling," Gelman said.

"It's been a challenging year for women, but seeing all the energy in the space between women gives us a lot of hope," Gelman said.

The Wing is a club and co-working space for women with 1,500 members and a huge waitlist. Read Full Story