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There has been much discussion raised about "Why are women leaving Architecture? and more broadly, Why is the profession losing key talent?"  Both women and men practitioners are disillusioned by the myth of work/life balance: Women are grappling with "have it all" expectations of juggling family time with the demands of full-time work.  Men are struggling to support their families solely on an architect's salary and fall back on asking spouses to maintain their jobs. The lack of affordable childcare and high cost of living only magnifies the challenges.  How did we end up in this modern family dilemma? What can we do to improve the situation?

EQxD: A Special Thank You to our Sponsors!

We are grateful to our supportive sponsors and partners in The Missing 32% Project's Equity in Architecture Survey, Equity by Design Symposium and 2015 Equity Challenge Endowment goal of $30,000. To date, we have raised $34,000 and have "32" sponsors. We would like to thank our generous Sponsoring and In-Kind Partners for their support of The Missing 32% Project. 

In months to come, we will seek to continue our sponsorship campaign to further build the endowment for Equity by Design Research studies for future years. We also have other initiatives that will be outlined in our Equity by Design Challenge for 2015. We hope you will support us and spread the word. 

Defining Success: Early Results - Equity in Architecture Survey '14

Survey Says:

The Missing 32% Project launched the first Equity in Architecture Survey from February thru March 2014 as part of a multi-year research study to promote discussion and inspire change within the profession.  Nearly 2,300 respondents from the local and national architectural community contributed to the research effort that has helped to provide a candid look into the status of the profession and the challenges that must be addressed to preserve its value and relevance for future generations.

Infographic Design by Ming Thompson of Atelier Cho Thompson

How do you define success?

Our first Infographic illustrates the overall respondent demographics, including gender and age, as well as a compelling look the topic of what constitutes a successful career. Our preliminary survey finding compares how different groups answered the question "How do you define success in your career today?" Those working in traditional firms, sole practitioners, and architectural graduates in divergent career paths represent the 3 groups.  Out of 16 possible answers asked, all groups (with men and women nearly equal) selected 3 prominent factors over the rest;

  • Work/Life Flexibility
  • Working on projects of personal and professional significance
  • Working with a positive, talented, collaborative team.
  • (Social Impact / Making a difference was a close runner up).

Not surprisingly, architectural sole practitioners valued "Work/Life Flexibility" as the highest factor; while those working in traditional firms and divergent career paths had selected "working with a positive, talented and collaborative team" as their top choice. Some of the remaining answers that were infrequently selected include: positive client relationships, positive project outcomes, earnings commensurate with experience/achievements, job title/status and recognition by the design community. 

These results are based on preliminary findings conducted by our research team from Mills College, with Infographic provided by Atelier Cho Thompson. We look forward to sharing other key outcomes of survey findings at Equity by Design on October 18th. Join us! You can register for the event here.

 

KEEP CALM and TAKE THE SURVEY

It has been an amazing launch week.  In the first 3 days of the initial PR effort, we have received over 300 responses to the Equity in Architecture Survey. Thank You to those that have taken the time to complete the survey! Additional thanks to those that have sent emails to provide feedback on the survey questions.

Due to the nature of individual circumstances of varying career paths, the survey will not be completely applicable to all situations. Unfortunately, one size does not always fit all. We know that we are light on questions for sole practitioners, small firms, alternative career paths, and the unemployed. Some of you have written to us about this and we have been struggling with these issues since we started this project. Thus our conundrum: limited resources and a very large and varied discussion to cover, deciding where to start, what the "right" questions to ask and who our primary audience would include for Phase 1 were only a few of the many discussions that took place before we even wrote the first question!

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Gender Equity Policy: What we can learn from the Aussies and Brits.

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

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