Gone are the days when we had to get up early in the morning and hurry to the office rain or fire. Now we have the freedom of choice. You can sign a contract with any company from overseas and work remotely. Not everyone is ready to leave the country to find a dream job. All of us have roots, ties, and responsibilities. A remote workstyle together with a female coworking space is a great chance for women entrepreneurs to balance personal life and career without any sacrifice.
This is especially topical for mompreneurs.
Mompreneur is a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of an entrepreneur.
When you are taking care of the family and raising kids, it's not that easy to embody a professional ambition. The flexibility of remote contracts enabling to choose when and where to work is one of the ways to go for a modern business lady.
Women have been victims of gender bias and stereotypes throughout human history. The past 200 years are notable for the improvements in these respects. Women have gained far-ranging legal rights, girls around the world have achieved vastly increased educational attainment, etc.
Still, some statistics are frustrating.
Globally only 23% of parliamentarians are women.
Gender inequality in access to primary schooling is an issue in 68 countries.
More women have entered the paid workforce in recent decades; however, they typically work in the informal sector, characterized by poor earnings and insecurity (OECD 2015).
From the persistence of gender pay gaps to the 65 – 110 million women missing in 2002 due to discriminatory access to medical or dietary resources throughout their lives (Klasen and Wink 2002), to this day women have not achieved equality with men in terms of institutional treatment or well-being outcomes.
According to a poll organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, work-life balance and the gender pay gap are on top of the critical concerns list for women in countries with well-developed economies.
The global report states that four in every ten believe the gender pay gap to be a key issue.
As you see, there's still much to be done in terms of gender imparity as in some communities women are still subjected to discrimination.
Prejudices still hurt women's work lives, which results in less pay and fewer career opportunities.
The truth is that 52% of the women notice that men either in the same role or junior to them make more money than they do.
The salary employers offer to women initially is often lower than the amount offered to men in the same role.
The roots of this problem are deeper than may seem. Employers often ask applicants about their salary history and base their starting offer on that data. This means if a woman had lower salaries in the past, she will suffer from money deficit again. 53% of women report that they had been asked for salary history. So, the discrepancy in men and women's pay compounds over a working person's lifetime.
On average, a woman earns $9,909 less than a man every year according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Speaking about inequity, I can't help mentioning a common workplace phenomenon of the “motherhood penalty” and the “fatherhood bonus“. Traditionally, men having kids are considered family breadwinners. When men become dads, they start to get raises easier.
Meanwhile, what happens when a woman becomes a mom? Employers start to think they are less committed to their jobs, which makes the salary gap even wider.
According to the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) analysis of U.S, Census data , working mothers make about 71¢ to a working father's dollar, resulting in a loss of about $16,000 in earnings for moms every year.
Of course, there are many legitimate ways to fight gender bias and stereotypes. Creating a safe space for women, where they feel support and encouragement is one of them. That's why we are talking about a new trend in the coworking business. A wave of women-focused coworking spaces that are being launched these days creates that environment for members.
Being a coworking space software vendor, our team has lots of opportunities to talk to operators and managers of women-only spaces. All these professional women identify the same key point why they started their niche spaces - to create a safe environment for women that encourages them.
In a traditional coworking space, surrounded by male-centric IT teams and freelancers, there is still a risk of bullying and inequality, simply because women are in a huge minority in the IT industry.
Did you know that the first person who published an algorithm was a woman? An English mathematician, Ada Lovelace is considered the author of the first computer program.
The IT sector is still far from gender equality. According to the 2018 Women in Tech Index by Honeypot, the female IT workforce is less than 31%.
Anyway, this article is aimed at highlighting a positive coworking business trend (instead of drawing well-known facts), so I would like to finish this block on an optimistic note as the situation with gender inequity is much better today than it was 35 years ago. I believe it will be getting better each year with the rising popularity of women-centered coworking hubs.
If you want to target your flexible workspace at women and their specific requirements, you need to step into female entrepreneurs' shoes and tailor an irresistible sales pitch. Of course, you need to study what other women-only spaces offer their customers.
Here is a list of facilities top-rated women's coworking spaces provide:
"I'll add phonebooths on top of the list, then big lockers, nap room, and shower, as fundamentals. I found one coworking space with an "emergency room" for mothers without childcare. They never use it but feel relieved at the idea there would be a plan B in case their babysitter/partner/relatives can't take care for the child." — Ivanne Poussier, a committed entrepreneur on her way to creating an ideal female-focused coworking in France
Will the investment pay off? Definitely! The Wing and Hera Hub women-only coworking spaces are brilliant examples of masterly targeted marketing strategy success. Several thousand women are on their waiting lists to join.
A women-only workspace must take into consideration the difference in male and female tastes and perceptions.
Women are more emotional and subject to stress (28% vs. 20% percent according to a study by the American Psychological Association ), so your utmost goal is to give them the comfort they deserve. Some coworking spaces for women style their workspaces as spa salons. Spending a day at the spa where interior details appeal to the five senses is tempting.
Pro tip: Bring fresh green plants, art pieces, use calming colors, flavor the air with the scent of relaxing aromatic candles, play soft music in the background. Offer your guests fresh coffee, spa water, and snacks, along with comfortable seating arrangements.
Some colors are traditionally considered feminine. They appeal most strongly to women's audience and are smart choices for marketing messages, websites, and interior designs targeting women. According to multiple color studies, the favorite colors of women and men differ.
Please note that the division of feminine, masculine, and gender-neutral colors is rather nominal. Colors come in so many tints and shades. So, if you strongly dislike dark green, you may love mint. There are no universally appropriate shades, yet some generalizations are possible
Here is a brief recap of colors loved by women.
Color studies say that women prefer soft over bright colors. Does it mean that a coworking space for women should be all soft pastels or royal purples? No way! You should involve many more factors in selecting hues. Gender is only one consideration. Remember that a color that successfully targets young women in the USA turns into failure in Germany.
So what should you do? Mind that feminine colors are not universal, research symbolism, preference, and psychological effect of certain colors and color combinations.
Women go to coworking spaces not because of their eye-candy design. First of all, they go there to work. So, your coworking space must cover their primary professional needs.
Provide entrepreneurial women with every piece of equipment they require for everyday work. You must take care of everything, I mean from little things like staples and pens to bigger tools like printers and copy machines. It goes without saying that you must have a stable high-speed internet connection, landline telephones, and other office hardware gadgets.
Utmost Security
Demonstrate that you have high online and offline safety standards. Your customers don't want to worry about their data, business files, and other stuff. It must remain intact. Mount surveillance cameras, install anti-hacking software, develop data governance procedures in case of data breaches. No matter how beautiful is your female-focused coworking space, no businesswoman will rent a spot there if it's not trustworthy.
Advanced Software Solution
Impress your visitors from the very beginning. Use innovative coworking software to run your space. Make the process of booking, payment, and access automated. Notify them with popup reminders about their bookings, send welcome messages to the newcomers. Don't make the ladies wait. Provide ultimate simplicity and comfort at every step letting to apply for perks, services, and book meeting rooms online. This will help you keep your visitors, make them come back every now and again, and truly embrace your community of women.
Women-centric coworking spaces featured below beautifully illustrate all the tips stated above.
With the growing trend of remote work and diverse member preferences, the coworking industry is ripe for innovation. Recognizing the distinct needs of male and female customers, especially in women-focused coworking spaces, is the key to unlocking this potential.
Now, armed with insights into what women want and how successful businesses have adapted to their needs, you have a unique opportunity to make your mark in this evolving industry. Ready to take the leap into creating a female-focused coworking space? Schedule a demo call with our product expert to explore the tools and knowledge you need to thrive in this exciting journey. Your journey to building a more inclusive and accommodating workspace starts here.