March 8, 2021 – Global flexible space provider WeWork today announced the launch of Women For Tomorrow, a new initiative providing selected women-led businesses focused on shaping a more equal future with a total of $5 million worth of workspace and mentorship for a year in the U.S. and Latin America. WeWork has partnered with the Women’s Global Empowerment Fund, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting women through economic and social programs, to help identify and select businesses that are focused on driving equality, as well as to support women’s empowerment in underserved regions of the world.
From March 16, 2021 through March 31, 2021, women-led businesses can apply for the program, which will provide 100 selected companies in the United States with WeWork All Access memberships for up to 10 employees for one year. In addition, 63 selected companies in Latin America will receive either WeWork dedicated office space or WeWork All Access memberships for up to 10 employees for one year. WeWork All Access provides members with access to hundreds of WeWork locations around the world, providing evolving businesses with flexibility in time, space and geography.
Additionally, the selected women-led companies will have access to advice and networking opportunities with SoftBank’s specialists to help their businesses navigate challenges and grow successfully. This mentorship program will offer the selected women-led businesses access to key professionals, educational sessions, and networking opportunities to help scale their businesses.
WeWork is launching Women For Tomorrow as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a disproportionate impact on women in the workforce. In February, NPR reported that more than 2 million American women left the workforce in 2020 alone, while UN Women found that the pandemic will cause a 6 percent rise in unemployment among women in Latin America.
“More than a year into the pandemic, we’ve seen the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on people everywhere but in particular, on women,” said Lauren Fritts, Chief Communications Officer at WeWork. “It is critical we provide women-led businesses the resources they need during this challenging time. Through our Women For Tomorrow initiative, we are humbled to help empower women who are both driving forward their businesses, and focused on helping others do the same.”
“Women are natural leaders, in business, in their communities and political life, and we are inspired by WeWork’s Women of Tomorrow Initiative, supporting women to thrive and succeed in their career endeavors,” said Karen Sugar, Founder and Director of the Women’s Global Empowerment Fund.
To be eligible for Women For Tomorrow, businesses must be based in a city in which WeWork operates in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru or Mexico. To learn more and sign up for updates on the Women for Tomorrow program, including when applications will open, please visit we.co/womenfortomorrow.
About WeWork
WeWork is a global leader in flexible space, providing businesses of all sizes with the space, community, and services they need to help run and grow their business. With 859 locations in 151 cities and 38 countries around the world, WeWork delivers flexible space solutions to its 542,000 members worldwide.
About Women’s Global Empowerment Fund
Women’s Global Empowerment Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that creates innovative economic, social, and political opportunities for women and families in the post-conflict region of northern Uganda and East Africa. Those opportunities include literacy training, a unique microcredit lending model accompanied by business and leadership development training, health based programs, the Healthy Periods Initiative, sexual violence education, social justice programming, and more. WGEF helps these communities transform by becoming their own advocates and creating their own solutions to move themselves forward.
About SoftBank
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing over US$100 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones; the SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest venture fund in that region, and the SB Opportunity Fund, a US$100 million fund dedicated to investing in enterprises founded by entrepreneurs of color in the U.S.
