In the age of Me Too and fourth wave feminism, safe spaces for women in the workplace are essential.
The Lola, a womxn's club and community, is one of those places. The Lola uses the term womxn to be clear in their commitment to inclusivity and intersectionality. The term womxn includes all cisgender and transgender women, and any other person who identifies as a woman. But don't mistake them for a coworking spot.
"We made a decision to move away from (coworking), because we’re very community first," The Lola cofounder Eileen Lee told Atlanta Inno. "We’re expecting you to give as much as you get here. We want everyone to be engaged and commit to the community."
Located in the Old Fourth Ward, The Lola's 5,000 square foot space includes quiet work areas, a bar and café, private mother's rooms, a screening and theater area, a beauty room with six vanity stations, multiple conference rooms and a podcast studio.
Memberships cost $165 a month, and include access to the workspace, community events designed for womxn by womxn, free parking and more. The Lola members pay annually or monthly for access to the community benefits.
Lee said she's not competing with corporate coworking spaces like WeWork and Industrious, because the services they offer are so diverse. The Lola doesn't attract womxn with crazy technology or free coffee, but open collaboration with womxn in a safe space.
In early surveys the founders conducted, many Lola members said they felt put on display at open coworking spaces and felt services at well-known coworking spaces weren't dedicated to womxn. The Lola is designed to support womxn-owned businesses, Lee said.
"For us the membership includes the vast majority of resources we provide," she said.
The Lola is Lee's second business, having founded Venture for America, a business that recruits recent college graduates to startups. After experiencing the burnout a lot of womxn across the country face when trying to fill the roles of best boss, co-worker, significant other, friend, daughter and mother, Lee had the opportunity to restart in Atlanta with her family.
The Lola has been able to secure strong partnerships throughout Atlanta; Mailchimp is a corporate sponsor and The Lola members include significant womxn leaders in Atlanta, including Jewel Burks with Google for Startups, Amy Zimmerman with Kabbage, Robin Gregg with Roadsync, Rhea Perkins with CREATE-X, Bernie Dixon with Launchpad 2x and more.
Lee said she wanted The Lola to be a place womxn could work with, confide in and build up other women, while also having space to self-reflect, self-repair and invest in themselves.
"We’re truly excited to find the right member that has the same value alignments," she said.
Check out pictures of The Lola in the gallery below.
