A new co-working space for women in Singapore, inspired by Virginia Woolf

An “all-female co-working space.” Upon hearing this phrase, some people might imagine a pent-up and pinked-out open office, designed to shield women from leering gazes and uninvited interactions with the opposite gender. They can’t be faulted for doing so, given the number of high-profile female harassment cases that have occurred over the past year.

But Michaela Anchan, founder of Singapore-based all-female co-working space Woolf Works, sees her space as an escape from a different “evil” – the craziness of the home.

“I’m a creative writer, and I have small kids at home, so I find writing at home really challenging,” she explains. “I wanted to find an office for myself, one that I could go to whenever I needed to get out of the house to write.”

Anchan was disappointed to find that the cost of renting an office for herself in Singapore was really steep. Digging a little deeper, she learned about co-working spaces, but quickly ran into another wall – most of the co-working spaces here in Singapore are tech-oriented.

“I was looking for something more ‘chill’ – a simple place where I could just sit back and write. I couldn’t find anywhere addressing that need locally,” she says. “At the same time, I was involved in an all-women group who were each starting their own businesses, and I loved their energy. They were always supportive of each other, and very collaborative. This led me to think, what if I created a co-working space for women-only to harness that energy?”

There are several like-minded workspaces around the world, such as the US-based Hera Hub and In Good Company. However, Anchan’s all-female co-working space will be the first of its kind in Singapore.

See: The definitive map of co-working spaces in Singapore

A Room of One’s Own

The name Woolf Works was inspired by the famous English writer, Virginia Woolf. “She wrote a book in the 1920s called A Room of One’s Own. The gist of the story was that, for a woman to create art, she needs a room of her own and some money,” Anchan explains.

I thought it was really interesting that, almost a hundred years later, it feels like nothing has changed. This is especially so when you have kids – to get some separation between the domestic sphere and the workplace, you need ‘a room of one’s own.’

It hasn’t been easy for Anchan to get her room up and running so far, especially since she has been organizing and bootstrapping operations by herself. Thankfully, The Athena Network, a community for female executives and entrepreneurs, as well as a handful of friends, have helped her on this journey.

A professional and supportive atmosphere