Women-Only Work Space Opens In River North
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A women-only co-working space has opened in Chicago's River North neighborhood.
"It's 5,000 square feet. It's a beautiful loft in River North," said evolveHer founder Alicia Driskill.
Driskill says evolveHer is designed to meet the needs of women balancing demands from work and family.
"I wanted to create a space where we can come together and really support each other, and not in just the business side, but every aspect of life."
That means more than just office space; it means classes, workshops and other amenities.
"We have different classes that support women from the business standpoint. Entity, selection, tech strategy, social media -- but we also have meditation, purpose workshops and even exercise classes."
While the trend has grown in recent years, evolveHer is among the first women-only co-working spaces in Chicago. Driskill says she wants to create a safe and motivational community.
"It's really about bringing women together to support each other, and to connect and to feel comfortable with the conversations, to support each other in our businesses and elevate each other," she said. "We've created this ecosystem where we can funnel business to each other and have those friendships that you can relate to from a parenting standpoint or a relationship standpoint, as well."
The #MeToo movement and the political climate has made a space like this even more desirable.
"We've been talking a lot about this internally lately. The conversation is really elevated right now. Everybody sees it now. We want to create a safe place for women to come back. Those harassment issues, we're able to arm them with how to handle such situations and to stand up for other women. It's important in a corporate world to support each other. We have to make sure we look out for our fellow sisters," said Driskill.
Women-only co-working has popped up in cities across the country.
EvolveHer officially opened last week and already has about 100 members. Membership fees range from $100 to $400 a month.
