Women-Only AA Meetings

You want a women's meeting for what you will not say with men in the room. Tonight, open a local list and look for the word women.

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Key takeaway

You want a room of women because some things will not come out with men in the chairs. The relationship, your body, the kids, shame you have carried alone. If someone told you to find a women's meeting, they mean a listing that says women. Tonight, open a local list and look for that word.

Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Some of what you need to say will not come out if men are in the room. The relationship. Your body. The children. A fear you have carried without a sentence for it.

If a friend said to find a women's meeting, they mean a listing with the word women on it. Tonight, open a local list and look for that word. Meetings on this site show public listings, and the word women appears only when the feed already marked it. When you see it, call the contact on the listing and ask if this is the room.

If withdrawal cannot wait, or someone will not wake, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. Alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when someone who has been drinking heavily for a long time stops suddenly. Get care before you wait on a label, and read alcohol withdrawal before you stop at home.

What the word women means here

A.A.'s group pamphlet includes women among specialized groups, beside men, young people, doctors, and gays. The group can focus on women's experience. It still follows A.A.'s rule that any alcoholic who wants help is welcome. Read the listing, then ask the group how they handle a newcomer.

Women in A.A. collects twelve stories from women members, for a night you cannot get to a room. If the listing has no number, call the local office.

Women is a different word from closed

A partner who wants to sit with you needs an open meeting. Closed means members, or people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop. Open means anyone interested in A.A.'s program, and people who do not drink may attend as observers. If you are bringing someone who does not drink, check open and closed meetings before you go. A family member who wants their own fellowship can look to Al-Anon. There are no dues or fees. You can sit and listen, including at a first meeting.

Phone and video meetings can carry the same women label, including the ones listed under online A.A. meetings.

If you need a clinician tonight

A women's meeting is people helping each other, and mutual-help groups are not led by healthcare professionals. If what you need is a program that admits women, ask about admission on women-only rehab.

Search FindTreatment.gov when the drinking itself cannot wait. Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding a program while you look for the meeting.

Additional Resources

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Common Questions

Does A.A. keep a national list of women's meetings?

Meetings are listed locally. Women in A.A. collects twelve stories from women members. A day and a room show up on a local intergroup list. If the listing says women, confirm it with the group before you go.

Can a women's group still call itself an A.A. group?

Yes. Women is one of the specialized groups named in A.A.'s group pamphlet, beside men, young people, doctors, and gays. They may call themselves an A.A. group when the members are alcoholics and the group meets the other points that define an A.A. group.

Is a women's meeting the same as a closed meeting?

No. Closed is for people who want to stop drinking. Open allows an observer who does not drink. A women label can sit on either kind. If someone who does not drink is coming with you, you need the open meeting.

Is a women's meeting the same as women-only treatment?

No. A women-only rehab is clinical care, and it decides who is admitted. An A.A. meeting is people helping each other. Ask the program, not the meeting chair, who can come in.

What if the listing does not say women?

Leave it. A room that happens to be mostly women is a different listing from one marked women. Confirm the word with the group or the local office before you rely on it.