Redesigning parenthood

In October 2018, popular women’s social club and coworking space The Wing announced that it would begin piloting childcare and family programming. With this initiative, the female-centric collective hopes to further disentangle women from the reductive stereotypes and timeworn barriers of working motherhood. “By offering a solution for our members who are parents, we want to help contribute to a world where there is no perceived ​motherhood penalty,” said The Wing cofounder and COO Lauren Kassan.

To accomplish this, The Little Wing offers services and programming to ease the transition to working parenthood. Along with babysitting and children’s enrichment classes, members will have access to parenting seminars like “Your Child’s Schedule: How Much is Too Much?,” “There is Something Bigger Than Just Ourselves: Ways to Incorporate Spirituality and Religion Into Family Life,” and “Your Child’s Self Concept: Fostering Confidence, Self-Love and Humility,” as well as sessions that address queer parenting and family planning.

“The Wing’s mission is the advancement of women through community,” Kassan explained. “It was really vital for us to offer a solution to our members who are parents or thinking about or trying to become parents – by creating a dedicated space and support system for them through The Little Wing.”

In Seattle, coworking space The Inc began offering childcare options in May 2018 in an effort to transform how parents work. “The workplace is changing and becoming more flexible, but we haven’t really seen child care go along with that,” said Marlene Mejia Weiss, co-executive director of The Inc. “We’re incubating a new way to work and raise your young children.”