EQxD : Growth & Development 

Growth & Development: Knowledge Session (Click for Agenda PDF)

Licensed or not, principals or not, women are more likely than men to rate their firms’ promotion practices as ineffective at advancing talent, and substantially more likely to believe that gender plays a role in promotion decisions. In the Growth and Development Knowledge Session, survey results will provide insight on how women and men view the key challenges and issues for emerging professionals and firm leadership face today: The need to cultivate innovation and leadership, provide meaningful project assignments,  professional development opportunities, and foster transparency in performance reviews, promotion and compensation practices.  

Growth & Development: Break Out Sessions (Select 1 out of 3)

GD1:  Innovating Licensure: Creating a new Value Proposition for Architects

A critical part of the Equity equation hinges upon the complex process and costs for obtaining Licensure. This is compounded further by the erosion of real and perceived incentives for weathering the currently arduous process.  NCARB by Numbers 2014 provides a glimpse at where the pinch points occur candidates. Our early survey results highlight that beyond pragmatic challenges with the licensure process over the last 15 years, the crux of the problem lies in the current lack of a clear Value Proposition for becoming a licensed architect.

For some there is a sense that the process is insurmountable, while others practice award winning architecture under the licenses of their firms with no incentives for licensure. In what ways is the current process changing? Beyond the process, how can create a new value proposition for architects and the profession at large?  How can we as individuals, firms and the profession provide immediate as well as long term incentives clear to the unlicensed and emerging professionals?

Equity by Design attendees who sign up for this Break Out session will assess current attitudes towards licensure, brainstorm new models of valuing licensed professionals and develop equitable tools for achieving it.

GD2. Collaborative Negotiation is your Power Tool!

Would you like to become a more effective negotiator on behalf of yourself, your practice, and for the Architectural Profession-at-large?  Come and learn how to negotiate about money, how to negotiate with your clients, and how to negotiate with others on your project. There are many situations and types of negotiation — and ultimately it breaks down to communication styles and the choices we make when we engage in these situations. In this breakout session we will learn HOW to negotiate by learning the key differences between Competitive and Collaborative negotiation mindsets.

GD3. How to solve the Confidence Conundrum? Change your View, then Change the World.

Our research shows that, even though women take on similar responsibilities, work similar hours, and are promoted to mid-level management positions at rates similar to men early in their careers, they are dramatically less likely to become principals or partners. If, as this data begins to suggest, confidence and ambition are greater predictors of success than experience, what can women do to increase their chances of promotion? In a profession that values design and creativity, why does it seem that women gravitate towards management roles? Can we support, mentor, and advocate for each other more effectively to achieve success in design leadership ?  How can we play this game of success on our own terms?  Do we try to get better at "playing by the rules" by cultivating our leadership skills OR changing the rules altogether by creating new paths to advancement? or Both?