On June 9, 1982, after countless preliminary talks, heated discussions and sobering debates on the "women's issue", 14 women came together to found the non-profit association Frauenwerkstatt. The starting point for the association's work was the desire for change, for self-confident female life plans and perspectives. The declared aim was to fundamentally redefine the importance of women and their living environments, which was expressed in several development goals: 1) To raise social awareness of the social importance of female productivity. 2) To create conditions that would enable women to recognize their social situation and change it according to their importance and 3) to ensure that the work done to create and maintain such conditions is recognized and paid.

"Frauen-Bildungs-Räume" at Römerberg 24 was the first institution of its kind and started its educational activities under the umbrella of the Frauenwerkstatt on September 4, 1982. The board members Beatrixe Klein, Eva Schuster, Karin Löhr and Gabriele Möllmann ran the association and educational institution alongside their studies or work. With two programs per year, a varied educational and cultural program was offered with individual events, course programs lasting several weeks, weekend seminars, discussion groups and educational advice for women. The content and methods used to impart knowledge were sometimes developed from a women-specific perspective for the first time. A special feature was learning from and with each other in small groups. From car repairs to the basics of philosophy and politics, from self-awareness groups to health management, the offer expanded imaginary boundaries and put taboos up for discussion.

In March 1983, the Wiesbaden girls' meeting place was founded. The association rented rooms at Römerberg 32 and 5 for this purpose. As an advice center for "unemployed German and foreign young women and those threatened by unemployment" funded by the state of Hesse, the Mädchentreff was very popular right from the start. In addition to career information, help and advice with job applications and life issues, various course programs were offered.

In October 1984, Beatrixe Klein and Karin Löhr realized their desire to support women who were unable to return to work after taking a family break. The first motivation and orientation course for unemployed women, funded by the state of Hesse, was called "New start in working life", just like the advice center itself, and was opened at Adlerstraße 37.

On November 7, 1984, the association founded the frauen museum wiesbaden. The opening at Nerostrasse 16 was already overwhelmingly popular. The frauen museum wiesbaden quickly gained a very good national and international reputation.

Until the end of 1987, the Frauenwerstatt managed its visionary dream of an autonomous feminist sponsoring association, then released the girls' meeting place and the "New Start in Working Life" (now Career Paths for Women) into independence, entirely in the spirit of the founders, whose aim was and is to create initiatives, facilities and conditions and to bring about the associated changes. Frauenwerkstatt and frauen museum wiesbaden have resided at Wörthstraße 5 since 1991. Since then, the association has concentrated its activities on expanding and maintaining the frauen museum wiesbaden with the aim of creating gender equality and intercultural equal opportunities through cultural and political education.