The Wing, a membership club created specifically for women, is being investigated over whether its gender policies are discriminatory, according to a spokesman for the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
The network of co-working and community spaces, created to afford women “new opportunities, ideas and conversations,” offers members access to women-focused events, libraries and amenities such as charging stations, food, drinks and lactation rooms for an annual fee of $2,350 or $2,700.
The Wing has quickly grown from its flagship Flatiron location, which opened in 2016, to include outposts in SoHo, DUMBO and Washington, D.C.
But extensive media coverage of the company and a tip from the public also brought The Wing’s women-only policy to the attention of the city’s Commission on Human Rights.
“When New Yorkers report acts of discrimination to the commission, for example through a tip, the commission has a responsibility to investigate entities and individuals involved to protect people against discrimination based on their gender, race, age, and other protected categories under [human rights law],” Carmelyn P. Malalis, chairwoman and commissioner of the NYC Commission on Human Rights, said in an emailed statement Friday.
The Wing co-founder and CEO Audrey Gelman disputed that they were under investigation in an emailed statement on Friday.
“Quite surprisingly, the commission reached out to us on the first day of Women’s History Month,” Gelman said. “That call has resulted in nothing more than an agreement to meet and have a conversation — in fact, we have been assured that the de Blasio administration fully supports the mission of The Wing and will work with us to see it prosper.”
While The Wing’s policy against men joining or visiting its facilities would fall under the commission’s responsibility to investigate, as first reported by Jezebel, one anti-discrimination expert denounced the probe and suggested the company may be able to obtain an exemption from the city’s Human Rights Law.
“I think it’s patently absurd for New York’s human rights commission to be focusing on The Wing when we’ve had, over the last six months, numerous complaints about workplaces being absolutely hostile to women in terms of pervasive and endemic sexual harassment,” Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University, told Jezebel.
Data from the NYC Commission on Human Rights appears to support Murray’s assertions. Gender-based discrimination was the most common employment claim in 2017, making up 17 percent of all complaints, per the commission.
“The commission is currently investigating over 550 claims of gender discrimination, the majority of claims in the workplace,” Malalis said. “Many of these claims were filed by women, who for the first time in their lives, have found a viable venue for justice at the commission.”
The Wing has not yet applied for an exemption, Jezebel reported. And whether pervasive gender-based workplace harassment complaints would be enough grounds for the commission to issue an exemption is unclear.
Gelman said it’s imperative to “protect and foster” the mission of The Wing and other spaces created to give women a “positive and safe space to thrive.”
