Chicago is a serious co-working town. In fact, there are over 120 shared workspaces in Chicago for entrepreneurs to build their businesses. But none looks quite like evolveHer.
EvolveHer is a co-working space that's only for women. The building, located in River North at 358 W. Ontario, is a 5,000 square foot space equipped with all the amenities you'd expect from a co-working office: phone booths, conference rooms, event space, kitchen and lounge areas.
The only thing you won't find is men.
"We have such great women's groups and female entrepreneur vibes in Chicago, but there's really no place to centralize it and bring us all together," said evolveHer Founder Alicia Driskill.
While the trend has grown in recent years, evolveHer is among the first women-only co-working spaces in Chicago. The Ladies Room Chicago is a co-working space inside Coalition Impact and holds up to 15 people, but Driskill says evolveHer is the city's only dedicated co-working space designed exclusively for women.
Women-only co-working has popped up in cities across the country, and WeWork recently led a $32 million round in high-end ladies-only co-working space The Wing. Cities from D.C. to L.A. to St. Louis have all gotten in on the single-sex co-working trend.
"We really wanted to create community, and be community driven, so that women can get to know each other and really elevate each other and support each other on the business front," Driskill said, noting that the space holds professional workshops on things like tech strategy and increasing your social media reach.
But evolveHer is more than just about swapping business cards, Driskill added. There are also workshops around "finding your purpose," as well as meditation sessions to help members focus and relax. Each quarter the space also plans to hold "evolveHer future" classes, which are aimed at girls 7-14 to teach them business fundamentals.
EvolveHer also offers additional office amenities for female entrepreneurs, such as pumping rooms and a makeup touchup room. Membership ranges from $100 to $389 per month, and the space can hold about 100 people working at once.
It's no coincidence that women-only co-working has grown as the #MeToo and Times Up movements, as well as today's political environment, have brought the issue of sexism and sexual assault to the forefront of many Americans' minds. EvolveHer is a space where women can freely discuss those issues together and connect with others who may have similar experiences, Driskill said.
"[Women] realize they have common situations, whether those are good or bad, and you're able to talk about them in a safe environment where you can be vulnerable and really have a conversation and figure out a solution to move forward."
The space has been operating in beta for several months and is holding its official grand opening Jan. 31. Take look at evovleHer's space below.
