WHY DO WE NOT SEE MORE FEMALE ARCHITECTS?
Why do we not see more female architects? Nearly half of architecture students are women. Why are so few sticking with the industry after graduation? I like to discuss how being a woman and being an architect are—at times—set up as diametrically opposed. How does how we perceive women (or how women are told to act) impact their potential careers as architects? How do existing patriarchal structures undermine women interested in engineering or more math-driven work? How can we work within a community and without a community to begin implementing solutions? I was struck in particular by how many men versus women reported feeling strongly that their work made a difference; this perhaps connected to the finding that female architects felt recognized for working hard rather than for the work itself. Female and minority architects and designers earn lower salaries than their white male peers and are less likely to hold positions of leadership; ...