Last week on December 5th, a major breakthrough for gender equity in the profession of architecture was made with the Australian Institute of Architects’ National Council officially approving the organization’s first Gender Equity Policy.
The policy establishes ten best practice principles designed to maximize fair and equitable access to opportunities and participation for women within the architecture profession.
The development of the policy follows the Australian Institute’s involvement since 2011 with the Australian Research Council funded Equity and Diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession: Women, Work and Leadership project, which is led by a large collaborative team of eight scholars and five industry partners.
Studies conducted as part of this project have provided qualitative evidence confirming that the participation rate of women in the profession is disproportionately low compared to the number of women graduates in architecture highlighting the specific need to encourage and provide guidelines for the industry to adopt a comprehensive and ethical approach to establishing gender equality across the field.
‘As careers progress, the barriers for women increase, as evidenced by lower numbers in senior positions and higher attrition rates and the need for part time or flexible work hours when juggling career and parenthood affects women most heavily. This policy will go a long way in readdressing these imbalances.’
Paul Berkemeier, President of Australian Institute of Architects
Read MoreAn audience of over 50 people convened at the AIA Center for Architecture on the the evening of Wednesday, November 6th, to listen in on a panel discussion titled, "Careers in the Balance". This conversation is the first in a series of events and discussions focusing on life/work balance put on by the AIA's ForWARD Committee, a Forum for Women Architects and Related Disciplines. The panelists included architects in large firms, husband/wife partnerships, those in sole proprietorships and the president of an engineering firm. The influence of Sheryl Sandberg, author of the ubiquitous "Lean In", was evident from the start as the evening's moderator began with a thought provoking quote about nobody having it all, or at least no one admitting to having successfully figured it all out. Indicating perhaps, that even this word "life/work balance" is an unrealistic ambition, which I believe was unwittingly revealed through the evening's discourse; but this being a very subjective topic, I will let you decide…..
Read MoreThe Design Forward Conference held in New Orleans on October 18, 2013 was a huge success for bringing into light so many of the common themes that The Missing 32% project also seeks to explore.
There was an interesting (and I thought appropriate) balance of students and professionals. The conference was held at the Tulane School of Architecture, giving terrific access to the current student body. There was also a balance of men and women from the industry, who participated, both as attendees and as panelists. This was intentional and varies from tendency for women dominant participation at similar events including the past Missing 32% Symposiums and the recent AIA Women's Leadership Summit in Phoenix.
Read MoreWomen are “trending,” again.
As the women’s movement moves from voting booth to bedroom to boardroom, strategy seems to have shifted as well: if you can’t lick ‘em, “lean in” (preferably with statistics, solutions and a social media plan).
Read More"Why are women leaving Architecture? and "Why is Architecture is loosing its talent?" The problem seems obvious, while the solution remains complex and somewhat elusive like the proverbial elephant in the room.
Last Friday, a colleague and I gave an office presentation of lessons learned from our attendance at the AIA Women's Leadership Summit in Phoenix. It was a refreshing surprise to see many men, including a Principal and Senior Associates, in attendance. While I didn't know what to expect, I was encouraged by the resulting dialogue between men and women on topics ranging from flexible work schedules for caregivers, an increasing need to align project teams with today's diverse Client profile, as well as the lack of Paid Family leave policy in the US compared to other developed nations; key issues at the tip of the iceberg in the rapidly evaporating Architectural talent pool with women leaving at a faster rate than men. Although the outcome of this particular event was very positive and encouraging, it left me wondering.
"Why do we tend to shy away from having these conversations about the issues that matter most and ultimately affect us all?"
Read MoreThe recent Sunday New York Times featured Hannah Seligson’s article “Page by Page, Men Are Stepping Into the Circle”. Framed by the encouraging news that many male leaders and employees in corporations and upstart tech businesses have begun to embrace the concepts of Sheryl Sandberg’s book, we learn that there are a significant number of men “Leaning In”; embracing ideas about equity in the workplace and learning that the concept of creating a level playing field not only supports the push toward women being promoted for their promise as well as their achievements, but that these same equity concepts have a parallel benefit to men’s lives.
Read MoreI went to Phoenix this past weekend with an open mind, my brain a ready
sponge to absorb all the intelligence, wisdom and collective experiences
of AIA Women in leadership roles from across the country. What I came
back with was something more profound and transforming than words can
adequately describe. In the course of 48 hours, the lines between
speakers and attendees, strangers and old friends, seasoned leaders and
emerging architects became blurred by indigenously warm, open dialogue
about matters close to our hearts.
The sold out event of 200 participants was the third in a series of summits started by the Boston Women Principals Group in Chicago 2009 and followed by Kansas City in 2011; the 2013 AIA WLS Summit in Phoenix
was envisioned as a gathering of various Architects in leadership
roles, including: Principals, Educators, Owners, Designers,
Environmentalists and Innovators.
There
was so much to learn, so much to be inspired by, so many connections to
make, and yet the time was too short; not enough time in the "Maxed
Out" lives we mutually lead to allow more discussion on the issues that
matter the most. What amazed me the most is that with all the challenges
that women in architecture continue to face, the majority of the summit
conversations was not of complaints or opportunities lost, but
exemplary presentations of resilience, perseverance, and sheer
brilliance in design leadership. Topics ranged from "How to Win Work" to
"Why losing can be transformative"; from the idea that "All-Nighters"
fail to improve a project's outcome" to discussions of how Paid Family
Leave and Flexible hours could help in talent retention. The most
poignant dialogue of the event focused on answering the question: "How
do we continue to produce good work while negotiating fair fees that go
beyond surviving?
Read MoreFor the past three years I have
been mentoring two young architects. We have ended this relationship as
informally as it began, when one found a new position in a great firm
and the other won a design competition abroad.
I
didn't work with either architect at their respective firms, but such
is the close-knit architectural community here in San Francisco that I
found myself informally mentoring them when they started their careers
during the recession. As with many of these mentorships which I take on
from time to time, this happened easily and naturally. We got to know
each other during social and professional settings; quickly a
relationship formed. I wanted to help and guide. They wanted someone
(who was not their supervisor or co-worker) to talk to. While mentoring
takes time and commitment, the time together can be quite easily
productive, even when it is informal. Over coffee or after-work drinks
we talked about work schedules and commutes, dealing with unprofessional
colleagues, pay disparity, the latest projects in the pipeline, and the
etiquette in approaching principals who moved to new firms.
Read MoreThe first time I
really started thinking about the phrase 'sponsor' is when I read Sheryl
Sandberg's book ‘Lean In’. She explains it quite well and it made so much sense
to me. There is a fundamental difference between a mentor and a sponsor, and
Rosa touched on this in the last post. A sponsor is somebody preferably within
your organization who is there, physically and emotionally, who will bat for
you. A mentor is a person invested in your growth, but more from the sidelines
as opposed to being in the middle of the day-to-day operations. That's how I
understand it at least.
While thinking
about this, I remembered seeing 'The Hunger Games', a perfect example of how
sponsorship works. You might think "What does the movie have anything to
do with what we're talking about?", but hear me out...
Read MoreAn interesting discussion with
an architect colleague a few nights ago followed by the timely discovery
of this article the next day on Quartz called "To get promoted, Women need Champions, Not Mentors" brings us to an interesting point for discussion. Providing a resounding affirmation within the title, the article references Sylvia Ann Hewlett's book "(forget a mentor) Find a Sponsor" , which makes a compelling case for why Sponsorship is more powerful than mentorship in terms of career advancement.
Who’s pulling for you? Who’s defending your position? Who’s suggesting you for
the lead role in the next project? Odds are this person is not a mentor
but a sponsor. Mentors can
build your self-esteem and provide a sounding board - but they are
likely not the ones who will help advance your promotions or career.
Read More