The Wing is a network of work and community spaces designed for women. If you live in New York or San Francisco, maybe you’ve walked past one of the new locations sprouting up across the globe. To the outside eye, it may look like a social club — and it is. But it’s also much more than that.
Throughout history, women have been told they aren’t entitled to a seat at the table because of their gender. But over time and across the world, there have been many brave women willing to rise up and challenge this. Not surprisingly, women-only social clubs began as a result.
“In the 1860s, Jane Croly and other women journalists in New York were excluded from the New York Press Club dinner honoring Charles Dickens. They were told they could listen to the speeches, but they had to do it from the kitchen with the rest of the servants, which they weren’t too happy about,” says Alexis Coe, The Wing’s in-house historian. “They went and started their own club, Sorosis, which is very different now.”
The Wing isn’t just a social space for women to work, plan, organize, inspire, and unwind. The Wing is using its space to tell its own stories about women and share them with the world.
No Man’s Land
Its bi-annual publication No Man’s Land — a 132-page magazine filled with words, photos, how-tos, hexes, and inspiration — aims to “amplify The Wing’s mission: creating community through diverse and thought-provoking content.”
And now, The Wing is on a new mission to share the forgotten history of women “who were too bad for your textbooks” with a podcast, also titled No Man’s Land. Each episode, hosted by Coe, breathes life into overlooked stories about women who deserve legendary recognition.
“As the executive editor of No Man’s Land, I understand the importance of women telling their own stories,” says Deidre Dyer. “The Wing has championed this kind of storytelling through the No Man’s Land platform, which includes our biannual magazine and our brand new podcast. While our print publication looks to the present day and beyond, our podcast looks to the past for the stories that history got wrong or just plain old forgot about.”
SAP x The Wing
SAP is honored to sponsor the No Man’s Land podcast, giving a voice to women’s stories that need to be told.
Janis Fratamico, vice president of Global Brand Experience at SAP, saw a clear tie between The Wing’s celebration of feminism and SAP’s focus on gender diversity. When she first met with The Wing, she loved that they described themselves as “unapologetically feminist.”
“We wanted to partner with The Wing because they’re very edgy, very current, and they’re very relevant,” says Fratamico. “They’re very in tune with conversations that are happening around the world, particularly in this country, right now.”
Gender equality is a core company value at SAP and we’re proud to re-certify with the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality global standard, with the belief that a gender-equal workplace will benefit employees, customers, and partners.
“In order for us to continue to be the most innovative company we can be, we need diversity of thought, ideas, skills, and experiences that both men AND women bring to the table,” says Shuchi Sharma, global head of Gender Intelligence at SAP. “We need individuals to challenge norms. We need the space and safety to fail when we try new things. And we need to constantly be thinking about how we draw out and leverage those differences. When people feel like those differences are valued and that they belong – genuinely belong – that is when the magic happens.”
SAP Chief Marketing Officer Alicia Tillman has long been an advocate for advancing women in tech and bridging the gender divide in the industry, championing initiatives like the SAP Women Forward community.
Tillman presents some of today’s “too bad” women during the commercial break on each episode of No Man’s Land.
“SAP is proud to work with the The Wing and support its first podcast by recognizing those women who were courageous enough to break the rules — historically and today,” says Tillman. “The Wing is a unique platform founded to advance women through communities and since its inception in 2015, co-founder Audrey Gelman has been recognized on Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People’ list. Our partnership with The Wing allows us to continue supporting and celebrating women in new and exciting ways and within platforms and communities that represent the future.”
