Exclusively-female social clubs have existed in the UK since the twentieth century, founded as counterparts to traditional working men’s clubs in which manual labourers would socialise, hear educational talks and organise charitable works.
But in recent years – as our work and personal lives have become increasingly intertwined – a new crop of women-only clubs have launched to provide non-judgemental, supportive spaces for women to share tips and professional advice on anything from creativity, to the nitty gritty of financing a startup, over a glass of wine.
There are a myriad of factors contributing to the demand for these clubs. “There’s a hunger for real life interaction, a reaction against the culture of the internet,” says Joy Lo Dico, who founded The Trouble Club in London in late 2014. The Trouble Club began as a co-working space and series of talks and cultural evenings. Now, it hosts pop-up events in central locations with guest speakers including Professor Mary Beard and Stella Creasy MP.
At this particular political moment, the importance of women having freedom to express their views can’t be underestimated, according to Robin Kendall, founder of The Side Room: “a space run by women for women can only be a good thing; especially in the light of the threat to women’s rights in the US and, quite possibly the UK – now is the time for women to actively set up clubs,” she says.
As January’s worldwide women’s marches showed, there is immense power in women uniting over common interests. Women-only clubs give members the chance to broaden their social networks. “You get to meet women who you already share an interest with – you’re at a wine tasting so everyone there must like wine – that’s an immediate ice-breaker,” Kendall says.
As a pop-up club without a fixed location, The Side Room runs a diverse range of events. “We host events in unusual spaces and London’s hidden gems, so members get to experience and discover something new,” adds Kendall. “From gin and tequila tastings to US election debates, we attract women from a plethora of industries and backgrounds.”
Work is the primary focus of the clubs, and one of their biggest appeals is how they enable women to share professional best practice within their industries.
The Mayfair Collective Women’s Space, which launched in March as a week-long pop-up in conjunction with International Women’s Day, aimed “to celebrate and facilitate women of achievement”. The London club combined a co-working area with an event space hosting events and talks by business woman Jo Malone, fashion blogger Susie Bubble and the hoteliers Irene and Lydia Forte.
Joanna Lea, director of retail at Grosvenor Estate London, where the pop-up was held, believes the shared experience provided by women-only clubs, “helps to spread best practice as well as provide support and understanding”.
This focus of many women’s clubs on careers, professional productivity and economic advancement arguably also helps to further the broader aims of feminism, by empowering women as a collective entity rather than simply as individuals. “My focus is primarily on work, career development, and finding ways to help people to establish, happy, creative, and fulfilling working lives,” says Phoebe Lovatt, a freelance journalist and moderator who founded The WW Club, (The Working Women’s Club), in LA in January 2015. “That said, I’m very invested in helping women to achieve equality – in the workplace and outside it – and I think economic and professional empowerment is a crucial part of that. By offering a space for women to connect, learn, and get inspired, I hope to help accelerate the shift.”
British-born Lovatt moved to LA in 2012 but had begun to feel isolated from the supportive network of women she’d left behind in London. To combat the professional – and social – isolation, she wrote a self-employment guidebook, The Handbook For Women Who Do Creative Work. She launched the book in conjunction with a new downtown space, in which women could network and work alongside each other, hear panel discussions and enjoy a cocktail. Lovatt now runs The WW Club from New York and has also held events in London, Paris, and Taipei.
Many people disagree with the idea that further segregating men and women is necessarily good for women. “The drawback of all-women’s venues is that you end up in the boring old argument which begins: ‘well why are you complaining about men’s clubs, then?’”, says Lo Dico of Trouble, which does allow men as guests and members. “We just believe in a space where women have the upper hand in numbers.”
Furthermore, the membership aspect of many such clubs can give the impression of being exclusive, with some charging membership fees on top of ticket prices for individual events. “The membership concept [of The WW Club] is merely an additional benefit for people who are interested in receiving exclusive content – all my events are open to the public,” says Lovatt. Membership of The WW Club costs $9 a month plus a one-off $20 joining fee and grants members access to perks including exclusive bi-monthly newsletters and access to a private Facebook group.
The future looks bright for women’s clubs, particularly at this tumultuous time in politics in many parts of the world. Lo Dico, for one, aims to roll out The Trouble Club beyond the capital. “London is our base, but our ambition is [to] bring the club to other cities in the UK and also to Europe. With Brexit happening, we’re on a mission to build bridges to other European women’s communities, with trips abroad. Our first is to Budapest at the end of March.”
Similarly, Lovatt hopes to use the rapidly-growing The WW Club to connect women all over the world. “We now have official members everywhere from Mexico City to Seoul – so I’m trying to find ways to better serve and support those members, and also help them connect with each other. We live in a hyper-connected, globalised world but it’s still so hard to find ‘your people’, especially when working remotely,” she says. “The WW Club exists to join those dots.”
Women’s clubs may be going from strength to strength at the moment, but they will probably fall out of favour again soon enough, warns Lo Dico. She believes women’s clubs have a cyclical nature – they gain in popularity and then become old hat again – but that’s OK. “While gentlemen have been eating the same menu of grouse washed down with port at the Garrick for a couple of hundred years, the culture of women’s clubs keeps changing. That’s progress. That’s good.”
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