Women-only places to live in New York are now a rarity, although they do still exist—the Webster, which opened in 1923 in Midtown, is still in operation today. But with the rise of the Wing and its innumerable imitators, exclusively female spaces to work and socialize are becoming more and more common, and their popularity seems to reflect a hunger for something that we didn’t quite know we were missing.

“Fighting Shirley” introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation and championed racial and gender equality, the plight of the poor, and ending the Vietnam War. She was a co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971, and in 1977 became the first black woman and second woman ever to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee.