To think this is unfair?

[Whenlifegivesyouoranges]

I joined a gym a few months ago and one of the main points for me was that it’s female only from 9-7 weekdays. I’ve just had this email from them and I’ll be cancelling as it no longer fits in with the times I can go, but this is ridiculous, right??

Now you’re a woman who gets much less time and id email you have always charged your memberships proportionate to hours the gym is accessible for the member. As a woman over 30 you have removed 15 hours of peak usage time from my membership, I estimate the new membership price for me is about… if I don’t hear from you confirming this within 2 days I will cancel my membership as it is too expensive for what you offer me now.

Maybe there’s too many older woman tutting and pearl clutching at the gym wear of the younger clientele.

That's absolutely wild. I can't understand it at all. I hope they realise what a mistake it is.

Sure, and as a middle aged woman in the gym I feel the same. But just because I feel like young women are perfectly fine in the same gym as me and in fact they look jolly confident doesn't mean that's the reality - and this particular gym, in this particular place, has feedback from young women that they want their own space.

I'm sure many men in mixed sex gyms would say that women are only there for posturing and would feel no impact from those men's flabby bodies, but we both know that the perception and reality are not aligned there.

To justify the policy the gym doesn't need to prove empirically that all young women feel uncomfortable near all older women any more than you need to prove that all women are uncomfortable near all men to justify a women only session. They just need to establish that there is a legitimate aim and say that they feel it's proportionate to reallocate these sessions for those young women. If they subsequently go bust because it's a terrible business idea then that's their problem, but that doesn't make the policy any less legal.

Is it worth asking to be sure it is not a typo? Leaving aside the depressing age discrimination (working women over 24 can only go to the gym at the weekends; working men of any age can go to the gym every evening), 12-24 is such an odd age group to reserve it to. 12-17 and 18-24 (separately) I could understand. But surely there are safeguarding issues with having a session reserved simultaneously for children (12-17yos) and certain adults (the 18-24yos)?

It's completely ridiculous. I'd quit and tell them exactly what you say above.

Surely the 4pm-7pm slot is prime time for women on their way home from work? So why do girls and younger women necessarily need this? 3pm-5pm would be a much more appropriate timeslot given a large section of the 12-24 age range are likely to be in school or studying.

OP no I don't think its fair.

The question is what do you want to do?

Your options are either end your contract or ask for a discount. There may also be a claim under the anti discrimination legislation but do you want to take that step?

I’m also struggling to imagine just why they feel the need to exclude women over 25 from the gym after 4 pm on a weekday.

Are women over 25 really so intimidating to younger women? Do they think no women over 25 has a job during the day?

And are they going to be changing their pricing structure for women over 25 to reflect the reduced access they’ll have?

I’d be very curious to know why the gym have made this decision, because aside from anything else it sounds like it’ll be terrible for business. I’m sure OP won’t be the only woman cancelling her membership as a result of this.

Incidentally, I’ve been looking into getting gym membership for my soon to be 12 year old DS. The gyms near us that allow under 16 year olds to join typically require those under 16 year olds to be supervised by an adult, with the exception of one gym that has a one hour after-school slot where the children can go unaccompanied (although other members can also go to the gym at this time, it’s not exclusively for children).
It’s a bit bizarre that this gym seems to be making a policy that’s the reverse of most gyms policy on under-16’s during this peak time slot.

Never mind the fact that this gym doesn't even appear to open before 9!

So in fact out of the peak hours, the only time women can attend is 9-12 on a Saturday!

This 👏

I’m baffled by the age restriction. Fully understand why women only sessions might be put in place but not with an age bracket attached.

Not really the point but I didn’t think gyms allowed members under the age of 16 because of health and safety. What 12 year old is attending the gym alone?

Maybe it's a misprint and they meant 4-5pm or 16-17.00 and got a bit confused typing? 4-5pm I'd totally respect for school and college girls but 5-7 is nots

Totally illogical - why the age range? I'd ask them to explain that, in writing.

Exactly. I could MAYBE get it if certain sessions were aimed at pregnant/menopausal women etc, or if specific exercises in classes were involved (an instructor told me that as our bodies are still developing past 18, instructors need to offer different exercises due to injury risk), but that doesn't seem to be the case. Apparently some people can feel threatened by anyone "different" from them, due to age etc, but it does seem unfair if OP's already paid.
I actually feel inspired by some of the amazing over 65s at my gym-I love having diverse groups that welcome everyone.
Some people in their 30s look the same as people in their 20s anyway, not that how you look should matter.
They used to ban women from clubs at certain times because "Men work, they should have priority", and this ageism reminds me of the old-fashioned sexism, but surely they don't think women over 24 are home all day in 2025, while younger ones all work? I used to think it was rude that older (as in over 30!) women were banned from some jobs, but never heard of them getting banned from prime gym times!

They have radially changed access hours for you, and given you bugger all notice, so you should be able to cancel your contract without penalty - if they quibble, fight back. I hope lots of "older" women (24+ lol) leave and their business suffers big time.
I also cannot understand a gym not opening until 9 on weekdays, and 10 on Saturdays. If they broadened their hours and opened on a Sunday, this stupid change might be more acceptable.

Hmmmm... I smell a rat. Younger women are less likely to complain when their boundaires are pushed.

They are dedicating some of their busiest hours to a small exclusive group seems like a bad business plan. I would understand if it was 3-5 to accomodate for school leavers because they need to get home earlier, but not 4-7 every work day thats bonkers.

I would politiely ask for the feedback given, and then give my own feedback.

Then I would find a new Gym/exercise class.

This..goodness me I've never heard of anything like this in relation to the gym. And do you need id ? What a random age cut off ? Please update us..this must be an error.

There must be a reason for it though, a business won’t do something like that for nothing.

Right but not 4-7 every weekday.

1 hour at 4 I would understand. I would also understand if they said we are going to trial for the next 3 months.

Didimum · Yesterday 22:31
I didn’t say it doesn’t overlap. My above comment says it overlaps by 2hrs. There are 5.5 peak hours in a week day and 2 peak hours on a weekend day (9-12). That’s 31.5 peak hours a week and only 15hrs per week designed for the subscribed age group.

Peak hours for gyms are early, before work, 6am-8.30am — which doesn't apply at this gym because doesn't open till 9am — and 5pm-8pm after work. But the women's gym facility at this gym ends at 7pm (after which it's an all-male facility) so women have 2 peak hours, 5pm-7pm a day. That's 10 peak hours during the working week — and now any woman over 24 has been denied the right to use the gym during those hours. There's no way that banning women over the age of 24 from a gym at peak periods is going to be legal. Once a week to encourage younger women, maybe. Or from 4-5pm perhaps. But not the peak hours every day of the working week.

12-24 is such an odd age range. To a 12-year-old, a 20 year old might as well be a 30 year old, so it makes no sense in terms of demographic. Also, what parent is going to let their unaccompanied 12-year-old loose on the gym equipment? Are they even strong enough to use it? It's an 'elf and safety nightmare.

at least tell them why op otherwise they';ll thin theyre justified

From a 12 Yr old?

My hunch is that it is men complaining about not being able to use the gym immediately after work. Exclude working women, then the 12-24 yr old females may come for a while until the novelty wears off. In six months time the gym can then claim that there's not enough demand from women to warrant them having the peak slot so that becomes available for the men. They could also increase the rates for men as they would be getting access for a greater period of time.