JCIP #372 - Men's Sheds: A Safe Space No More?

In episode 372 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie flew solo for a one-off episode investigating a men's mental health organisation we had previously been big supporters and champions of, Men's Sheds. 

We even interviewed former CEO of the UK Men’s Sheds Association, the body who oversee all Men's Sheds in the UK, Charlie Bethel in JCIP #249, in July 2024. 

Men’s Sheds are community-based, non-commercial spaces where men gather to socialise, share skills, and work on practical projects. Designed to reduce loneliness and combat social isolation, these workshops focus on building, repairing, and collaborating while significantly improving mental health and well-being.

The reason for this episode is because we stumbled across some threads on Twitter/X from men claiming that Men’s Sheds, a space deliberately and purposely created as a men-only space, were now accepting female members. This wasn't just an isolated one-off incident but allegedly on mass.

Surprised, angry, and confused, we decided to investigate and the public data we very easily found disappointed us. 

On the UK Men’s Sheds Association website, on a section called ‘Women’s Health and Wellbeing’ it states that “between 30% & 40% of Men’s Sheds in the UK have women involved in them”.  

We speak about the implications of this, why this means in our view that Men's Sheds are currently no longer safe spaces for men only, and provide a public example of women invading these sheds too, in a Shed in Loughborough, Leicestershire. 

We know there are some fantastic people who work at the UK Men's Sheds Association, and we hope they listen to this episode, heed our warning and take action to protect the long-term mental health of the men they claim to support. 

We don’t want Men’s Sheds to fall, we want them to reflect, adapt and remember what their founding purpose was for.

As always, #itsokaytovent

In response to this episode, a UK Men's Sheds Association spokesperson said: “UK Men's Sheds Association doesn’t run or operate any Sheds, we’re here to provide support. 

"As each Shed is independent and self-determining, they’re responsible for deciding their own membership in line with the needs of their members and communities. We don’t determine who Sheds include in their activities. 

"Sheds choose to welcome members in a variety of ways – mixed sessions, men only sessions or women only sessions, while many remain men-only. This reflects the autonomy of individual Sheds rather than any change in the purpose of the movement or UK Men’s Sheds Association. 

"Most people don't join Sheds for health benefits, mental health or otherwise; those are important but ancillary benefits. As a result, we’ve always been happy to support both those Sheds who feel a need to preserve a safe space for men and those Sheds who feel their primary goal is met by mixed membership.  Our focus is on supporting Sheds to create safe, supportive environments where members can connect, share skills and improve their wellbeing.”

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of the Just Checking In Podcast. I'm your host, Freddie Cocker, and this podcast is brought to you by Vent, a place where everyone, but especially men and boys, can open up about their mental health issues, break down stigmas, and start conversations. In each episode, I check in with a special guest. We have a Natta and a chat about all things mental health, as well as anything and everything else they are passionate about. If it helps that person with their mental health, we discuss it. In this episode, I am flying solo to cover a topic which, to be honest listeners, I never ever wanted to do for many reasons. I waited and waited and waited for someone big in the men's space to speak up for men on this issue, but sadly, outside of the great Dr. John Barry, co-founder of the Centre for Male Psychology, no one has said a word. And it's surprised and disappointed me actually in equal measure. The issue in question concerns men's sheds, an organization which I had previously been a massive advocate for and champion of on this podcast. Men's Sheds are community-based, non-commercial spaces where men gather to socialise, share skills, and work on practical projects. Designed to reduce loneliness and combat isolation, these workshops focus on building, repairing, and collaborating while significantly aiming to improve mental health and well-being. I interviewed the former CEO of the UK Men's Sheds Association, the body who oversees all sheds in the UK, Charlie Bethel, in JCIP 249 in July 2024. However, one day on Twitter or X, I stumbled across some threads from men claiming that men's sheds, a space deliberately and purposely created as a men only space, were now accepting female members and not just isolated one-off incidents, but en masse. I initially struggled to believe this could be possible or even be happening for several reasons. Call me naive, call me whatever you want. Firstly, there has been so much advocacy from women about the importance of women-only spaces and maintaining that boundary. Given that, I could not believe this would be happening to a men-only space with that historical context. To be clear, this is not a golf club which has not accepted female members or a football club refusing to start a women's team or allow girls under 11 to play in a boys' team. This is, like I said, a space specifically created for men and by men. Secondly, I struggle to understand what women would gain from invading a men-only space like this. Again, naively, perhaps I thought they would feel weird, isolated within it, and have a self-awareness about them that this wasn't a space for them and swiftly exit. However, when I discovered the truth and reality that is public knowledge, it's not hidden from view, again, it disappointed me, it shocked me, and it angered me. On the UK Men's Sheds Association website, on a section called Women's Health and Wellbeing, it states that quote, between 30% and 40% of men's sheds in the UK have women involved in them. Now I spoke to UK MSA before recording this episode, very, very nice person I spoke to on their comms team, and for total accuracy, this means that whilst these women could well be shed members, many will also be helpers, supporters, fundraisers, andor family members supporting their male friends and family. First of all, what I would like to know is how much of that 30 to 40% of women are members who have been admitted and who are just supportive family members. Secondly, why have they got a section of their website, which is meant to be purely focused on men, about women's health and well-being? This feels just incredibly odd to me. It would be like an organization supporting women who are going through endometriosis or adiosis or some other female-centered or female-centric health issue having a section on their website about men's well-being. It doesn't make sense. Now, although it adds the caveat that, quote, most men's sheds exist for the benefits they bring to men's health and well-being, they then defer collective responsibility over this policy and state, quote, it's really down to each individual shed whether they invite women or have separate days for women to join in. That feels like a bit of a cop-out at best, and a complete abdication of responsibility at worst. Again, coming back to that 30 to 40% figure, it absolutely blew my mind. Not 2%, not 5%, not even 10%, but a third of them. And almost half of men's sheds, could be argued, are now effectively no longer men's sheds anymore. They're just sheds. In my research, I also wanted to find out what these women, who are members, are doing, how they feel about invading a men-only space, and who have effectively made their respective shed a safe space for men no longer. I came across an example of this on a BBC News Leicestershire article, which was published in April 2025. And the title was No Joke, we put the pressure on to join men in sheds. Absolutely brazen and shameless. Again, it shocked me, but at this point, my disappointment was quickly turning into anger. Now, first of all, you might not have noticed it, but there's a subtle sleight of hand in this piece by the journalist who calls the organization Men in Sheds rather than men's sheds, effectively de-sexing the organization and moving the proverbial overton window. So they were viewed as no longer men's sheds, but men who happened to be in sheds. One female member opens the interview by saying, quote, I kept asking my husband all the while, why can't we join? The answer to her should have been from her husband, because it's for men. So no, you can't. If you want to create your own space for women, be our guest, create one, and go prosper. She goes on to say, quote, eventually they let us in, just one morning, eventually it became all the time, and now it's 50% women, and we absolutely love it. End quote. Notice how these men naturally must have felt huge pressure from either their wives or other women in this social network to fold to their request. Now I'm just speculating here, but maybe they felt if they said no, it might affect their marriages or their relationships, and they didn't want that conflict or argument. Now, my counter argument to that is if your wife or partner doesn't respect your safe space you go to amongst other men, which helps your mental health and well-being, and also probably helps your marriage at the same time as a result. She probably doesn't respect you, she probably doesn't respect your boundaries, and perhaps you need some marriage counselling to work through that. Also noticed how she says, quote, and we absolutely love it, with the we, the important phrase here. Obviously referring to the women with absolutely no mention of what the men think or feel here. Another member says, quote, I think the men maybe were a little concerned at the beginning because maybe they came here to get away from their wives and were worried we were going to take over. But we haven't done that. We work well together. End quote. The very fact you are in there, madam, politely means you have taken over. Now, despite this, the men tried to maintain some sort of protected sanctum, even in that space where they no longer felt safe. They said, quote, when the women were allowed into the workshop, members decided to keep a quiet room with a model railway display in it, just for men, end quote. The overriding emotion I felt here for these men was just pure sadness. Even in their own safe space, they have been relegated to a small room for them to just be amongst their brothers. How utterly sad and disappointing. This downfall of this once great organization can be summarised by this quote on the UK MSA website. Quote: While the name may emphasize the historical focus on men, some mensheds today are becoming more inclusive, recognizing the value of welcoming individuals of all genders. UK MSA continue with the term mensheds to emphasize the need for spaces for men in supporting positive well-being. End quote. Many men in this space are refusing to cover this issue. I imagine because they are afraid they will be accused of misogyny or sexism or that they are hateful in some way. Many others perhaps don't see it as an issue, and I would urge those in the latter to wake up to this. My mantra on this podcast has always been build the space and men will talk. The mainstream narrative that men don't or won't talk in 2026 is outdated and quite frankly rubbish now. Society is still not listening to men. That is the most important point. If men-only spaces like this cease to exist as men-only spaces, what precedent does that set for the future of other men-only spaces? Will they be next? In addition, men aren't stupid. Many men will see things like this, reflect, and quietly say to themselves, I'm not going to bother opening up, I'm not going to bother joining a men-only group, because they simply won't trust that what's happened to men's sheds won't happen to the groups they attend. We cannot allow this to happen. Trust takes decades to build and a moment to break. So what is the solution here? Because as you know on this podcast, I'm all about solutions as well as pointing out problems. Now, if they're listening to this, I hope they are. If I was the UK MSA, I would immediately adopt a policy of re-emphasizing that men's sheds are exclusively for men and ban women from joining up as members. As clearly giving the sheds autonomy on this here has not worked. It has failed. Now there should still be space for women to participate in community events run by a men's shed, but in the building itself, it should just be attended by and catered exclusively for men, like the organization originally was built for. If that doesn't happen, I fear for the future of men's sheds long term, as more and more men wake up to this reality and the realization that they are no longer men-only spaces and therefore no longer safe spaces for them. I think they will sadly but silently turn away, leave, and those feelings of isolation and loneliness could return, depriving them of a fantastic, previously important mental health tool that they could use that wasn't just traditional therapy or medication or something which they weren't going to feel helped by. We cannot let this happen. I know there are some fantastic people who work at UK MSA, and I hope they listen to this episode, heed my warning, and take action to protect the long-term mental health of the men they claim to support. I don't want men's sheds to fall. I want it to reflect, adapt, and remember what its founding purpose was for. For fairness and in the interest of balance, I approached the UK MSA for comment for this episode, and they provided me with the following statement, which I will read out. A UK Men's Sheds Association spokesperson said, quote, UK Men's Sheds Association doesn't run or operate any sheds. We are here to provide support. As each shed is independent and self-determining, they're responsible for deciding their own membership in line with the needs of their members and communities. We don't determine who sheds include in their activities. Sheds choose to welcome members in a variety of ways. Mixed sessions, men-only sessions, or women-only sessions, while many remain men only. This reflects the autonomy of individual sheds rather than any change in the purpose of the movement or UK Men's Sheds Association. Most people don't join sheds for health benefits, mental health or otherwise. Those are important but ancillary benefits. As a result, we've always been happy to support both those sheds who feel need to preserve a safe space for men and those sheds who feel their primary goal is met by mixed membership. Our focus is on supporting sheds to create safe, supportive environments where members can connect, share skills, and improve their well-being. End quote. Well, that's all we've got time for on this edition of the Just Checking In Pod. I hope you enjoyed this solo episode if you happen to check in. If you enjoyed it, let me know what you thought in the comments below the promo post on social media. Was I right? Was I wrong? I'm happy to hear all opinions. Just be respectful and civil when you engage. As always, thank you to all the ventors who've checked in on this episode. Remember, if you've liked what you've heard, give it a share on social media by tagging us at VentsHelp UK. Tell your friends or work colleagues about us. If you're feeling generous, write us a review and give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what we're doing at Vent, please consider supporting us by going to patreon.com slash ventshelpuk or make a one-off donation to our PayPal. All of those links are on our link tree. That's linktr.ee slash vent helpuk. We hope to check in with you again very soon. And remember, guys, it is always okay to vent.