November 23, 2024
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New York women-only club investigated over ‘gender discrimination’ by human rights commission

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The New York human rights commission is investigating a women’s only work space and networking club for breaking the city’s strict anti-discrimination laws.

The Wing was founded in founded in 2016 as a private social club and co-working space for women, and currently has more than 1,500 members working from three offices in New York, and now one in Washington DC.

The club’s glamorous founders Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan, both 30, have cultivated a circle of social-media celebrities that includes the writer, editor and actress Tavi Gevinson, and the transgender actress and Gucci model Hari Nef. Lena Dunham, writer of Girls, was bridesmaid at Ms Gelman’s wedding to Ilan Zechory, a founder of Genius, the music website; Chelsea Manning is a member of the club.

“We have a diverse, culturally-rich, positive environment,” Ms Gelman told The Telegraph.

The high-profile club, with its Instagram-friendly millennial pink walls, bookshelves, beauty rooms and communal spaces, its showers and lactating areas, offers women an alternative to working in coffee shops.

In addition, those who pay the annual $2,300 (£1,600) fee have access to a programme of events recently included a talk by Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York senator seen as a possible presidential candidate, as well as a discussion about parenting, and a talk on colourism, and a flower arranging course.

But the club, which has drawn more than $40 million in venture capital, has fallen victim to its own success, with the commission launching what they term a “commission-initiated investigation”.

“In NYC, no one should be discriminated against or harassed because of their gender,” the commission stated on Twitter. “@NYCCHR uses every resource at our disposal to hold violators accountable and get justice for victims.”

Seth Hoy, a spokesman for the commission, said: “We are looking forward to working with The Wing to ensure that they are in compliance with the law.”

Since 1984, clubs not deemed “distinctly private” are forbidden from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, or religion if they have more than 400 members, regularly serve meals, and accept payment from non-members for business or trade transactions.

That law forced most of the all-male clubs in New York to open their doors to women, although a handful do remain male or female only.

Given the size and nature of The Wing, which serves food and accepts payment for non-members for food, most legal experts agree that it does violate city policy.

Ilann Margalit Maazel, a prominent civil rights litigator in New York City, told Jezebel: “I think I’m comfortable saying that it’s likely illegal. And it would certainly make for an interesting lawsuit.”

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Sylvia Law, a professor at New York University, agreed.

“I think that the legal question is pretty easy,” she said. “This violates the public accommodations law.

“The more interesting questions are whether it is socially wise, and whether either the city or an individual man will want to challenge it.”

Indeed, lawyers also agree that the commission may be foolhardy to apply to law in this case.

Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University, said the commission’s decision to investigate The Wing was “patently absurd” given numerous complaints about workplaces being hostile to women.

“The idea that a law that was meant to provide access to women would prevent them from having access to each other and the capital that they’ve built as women seems ludicrous,” she said.

Ms Gelman agreed. “It’s crucial to understand why these laws were passed: to protect women and minorities. And so it seems bizarre that they would undermine that, and take away what we are doing to support these groups.”The club’s members have been expressing their outrage online, with Monica Lewinski and Will and Grace star Debra Messing both tweeting their support.

The Women's March organisers at The Wing SohoCredit:
Getty 

Transgender model Hari Nef tweeted: “The @nycchr is investigating @the_wing on the basis of gender discrimination…The Wing is a safe and necessary space and I’m proud to call it my home away from home #istandwiththewing.”

Businesswoman Aminatou Sow complained: “Hello @NYCCHR I hope that you are also using our tax dollars and your resources to investigate workplaces that are actually hostile to women. Would love to read long investigative pieces about that.”

While J. Escobedo Shepherd, deputy editor at Jezebel, wrote: “I have philosophical and financial problems with The Wing but investigating it for discrimination is dumb as hell.”

New Yorker Laura Jane Watkins called the investigation a “waste of time”, adding: “There’s plenty of discrimination, poverty, & injustice in NYC. Pls go work on that instead of policing women trying to work. It’s 2018, not 1918.”

In a message to its members, The Wing confirmed the NYC Commission has “reached out” and confirmed it will soon “sit down and talk with them”.

“All that has happened so far is that we have agreed to sit down and talk with them,” said its co-founders Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan.

“Because of the history of women in this country — and even more so in this time we live in — we believe it is important to protect and foster the work of The Wing and similar places that give women a positive and safe space to thrive.”

The social club tweeted it has been “moved by the outpouring of support” from its members and allies who have expressed their outrage and solidarity by tweeting the commission and the city’s mayor’s office. 

It followed up with another post: “The Wing firmly believes that women deserve safe spaces in a male-dominated world. Human rights means protecting and empowering women, not taking even more away from them.”

The Commission responded to Ms Nerf’s tweet: “In NYC, no one should be discriminated against or harassed because of their gender. @NYCCHR uses every resource at our disposal to hold violators accountable and get justice for victims. Last yr, we increased fines & damages collected by more than $1 mil, collecting $2.7 million.”

 

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