The WIE Suite hosted the Fall edition of its Table for Eight series, an intimate constellation of dinners convened in candlelit private homes across the country. Each gathering brought together a curated circle of founders, C-suite leaders, investors, and changemakers for an evening designed to move beyond pleasantries and into the conversations that matter.
Our thanks go out to our sponsors: The Culinistas, Avaline Wines, and Urban Stems. And to the hosts of our Table for Eight dinners, Sabrina Mallick, Vanessa von Bismarck, Jen Cohen, Christina Lewis, Noria Morales, Daisy Auger-Dominguez, and Jes Wolfe.
This season’s provocation – Did Women Really Ruin the Workplace? – served less as a dividing line and more as a catalyst. Inspired by the recent headline that rippled through culture, our guests met it with candor, clarity, and the kind of nuance that surfaces only when accomplished women sit shoulder-to-shoulder and speak freely. What emerged was not defensiveness, but a powerful reframing: women have not disrupted the workplace for the worse, but reshaped it for the better, through leadership, empathy, and a refusal to accept outdated norms.
Members also reflected on how women are reshaping workplaces by expanding what leadership looks and feels like. As one Austin guest noted, environments shaped by women often bring “a comfort and safety… that women have never had” – cultures where caregiving realities, personal wellbeing, and emotional truth are not weaknesses, but leadership tools. Another powerful insight raised at the Austin table: the workplace wasn’t built for women or, frankly, for most modern professionals at all. “We’re still stuck in a system built 70 years ago,” one member observed, noting that today’s two-career households, caregiving realities, and cultural expectations demand something far more evolved.
Stephanie Roberson, Chief Merchandising Officer at Shopbop: “Women bring a diverse perspective, they bring empathy and EQ in how we lead our teams and it makes for a better environment for all.”
Christina Lewis, Founder of Beatrice Advisors and BFO21: “Did women ruin the workplace? No. It’s just that men didn’t want to share power.”
LaToya Christian, Managing Partner and Executive Director at GroupM: “We have only enhanced the workplace – making it better, more innovative, more inspired.”
Rashida Jones, Founder and CEO of Imagine Strategies LLC and Former President at MSNBC: “Women ruined the workplace because we broke an era of standards that were subpar. We brought leadership, we brought excellence, and we brought community. Women became more powerful and took on more responsibility and ruined the status quo.”
Emily Ramshaw, Co-founder and CEO of The 19th: “What is so unsaid here is that the same policies that benefit women in the workplace really benefit men too. Women didn’t ruin the workplace but markedly improved it not just for them, but for everyone.”
