New Cary coworking office focuses on providing space for women, with child care
The pandemic has hit women workers disproportionately hard, as a lack of child-care options forces many mothers to stay home to care for their children.
More than two years into the pandemic, the number of women in the workforce still hasn’t recovered to 2019 levels, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Now, a new coworking office in the Triangle is hoping to provide an opportunity for some of those working mothers.
Opening this week in Cary, Blush Cowork enters a competitive field, with coworking companies from homegrown organizations like Raleigh Founded to large-scale national providers like Industrious expanding here.
Blush, though, is hoping to stand out by gearing its services specifically to women entrepreneurs and freelancers — and by providing a day-care option.
“It was very hard to live up to my role as a parent and my role as an employee when I had two kids sitting right beside me,” Blush co-founder Alison Rogers, a mother of two, said in an interview. “Actually, it was impossible.”
That experience sparked Rogers’ idea for creating a space that catered to the needs of women. While Blush is not just for women, Rogers said, everything in its office, from the design to the programming, has women in mind.
Located at 201 Shannon Oaks Circle in Cary, Blush has 11,000 square feet of office space, including 14 private offices, five conference rooms, a kitchen, a private mother’s room and a patio.
Child-care services are being provided by PlatinumSitters, a company that provides on-demand baby sitter services throughout North Carolina. PlatinumSitters vets all of its child-care providers by running background checks, checking references and conducting interviews.
Blush’s day-care services will be available for children aged six months to 12 years.
And while child care is located on site, Rogers said, don’t expect children to be creating distractions.
“It is in the same building, but it is a separate entrance,” Rogers said. “Parents can feel their child is close, but they won’t come in their space. There aren’t children running around.”
Blush is billing itself as the first female-focused coworking space in the Triangle. However, another coworking company focused on women, called Vibe, previously operated in Cary, though it did not provide child care.
Vibe closed when Cary Towne Center was bought by Epic Games last year. Epic plans to redevelop the mall into its headquarters.
Rogers believes there will be a lot of demand for a female-focused space in the Triangle.
“Just having the ability to have your voice be heard, or collaborate with other women, whether in your industry or outside is important,” she said. “There’s a need for a place where women feel totally respected and supported. I personally have found that to be a challenge in some of the places that I have worked.”
At capacity, Blush could hold around 200 workers, according to Rogers. Monthly memberships will start at $250, though day passes can be had for $45. Child care is $10 per hour.
Rogers said she believes Blush is launching at a fortuitous time. Many workers are still interested in working remotely, but are missing the chance to work in an office setting. And with COVID-19 cases beginning to drop again, she believes that interest will only increase.
“People are starting to venture out,” she said. “I know a lot of people like to work from home, but I am not one of those people. I am a collaborative person. I want to talk to people and meet with people.”
Rogers is making the bet there will be plenty of people just like her.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
