We had a great turn out last Monday for our 1st of 3 #EQxDChats via Twitter to kick off the conversation about the upcoming 4th symposium Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices at the SF Art Institute on October 29th. If you missed the conversation, you can catch up here via our Storify capture. Many thanks to all that participated! Don't miss our next 2 #EQxDChats in September and October.
- #EQxDChats #2: Meaning – September 12th - 12n-1pm PST
- #EQxDChats #3: Matrices – October 10th - 12n-1pm PST
This year’s symposium theme: "Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter.
“Equity - Just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all can participate and prosper. The goals of equity must be to create conditions that allow all to reach their full potential. In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.”
Why Equity in Architecture Matters.
Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.
We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.
We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.
We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.
At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 with a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Interspersed with these sessions we have designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops that encourage participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and applying matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.
