The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
67
print
Print
OtherAna NarvaezThu 25 Oct 18

Where Do All the Women Go? Architecture Still has a Gender Equity Problem

df64ea67-2f59-4dbc-be3e-24eb1cf54904

The representation of women at senior levels in architecture is still disappointingly low, despite women now making up 31 per cent of the total architecture population in Australia, according to a new report using Census data.

The report, published by gender equity advocacy group Parlour, explores the participation of women in the traditionally male-dominated architecture field.

And the data provides a pretty bleak story of women’s role in architecture, with “muted” growth of women into senior and more influential roles within the profession.

Since the mid ’90s, women have comprised 40 per cent of all architectural graduates and the number of women in architecture has grown from 20 per cent in 2001 to 31 per cent in 2016. In 2016, women make up one-third of architects in New South Wales and Victoria.

Despite equal numbers of women and men entering, and graduating from, architecture school, attrition metrics measured by Parlour reveal that women are present in strong numbers in the junior ranks of the profession, but disappear from its senior levels.

“There is a distinct fall-off in the numbers of women in architecture as they age,” report author Gill Matthewson says.

“It is this unequal attrition that results in the sluggish growth of women’s numbers and that suggests that gender biases are a contributing factor in women ‘leaving’.”

Related: Indigenous Urban Design ‘Not Just a Moral Choice but a Profitable One’

The Parlour Census report was launched this week in Melbourne. Panellists: Gill Matthewson, Clare Cousins, Shelley Penn and Ramin Jahromi, chaired by Julie Willis.

Since Parlour’s inaugural report in 2012, there’s been a significant uplift in the proportion of women gaining registration, jumping from 34 per cent to 41 per cent.

Matthewson says Parlour has been advising women to register as an important tactic: “because, for many complicated reasons, it is more important for women to have credentials, such as registration, than it is for men”.

Sustained growth in the graduation and registration of women architects is also bolstered by the growth in the number of women who own architecture businesses. In 2001, women comprised just 14 per cent of owners, growing to 21 per cent in 2016.

The number of women in architecture has grown steadily over time as identified by the two main metrics (pictured): registered architects and women identified as architects in the Census.


Nonetheless, the growth in the proportion of women is more sluggish than might be expected from the “flood” of graduates into the profession.

“[This] suggests that gender-based bias impacts more severely upon those in the architecture profession as they age,” Matthewson says.

The slower growth in these metrics suggests that structural and cultural factors continue to disrupt the elevation of women into leadership positions.

“This does not mean that no women are reaching those levels, but rather that if all things were equal, there would be more of them.”

As for pay gaps, there are two patterns that persist. One brings good news: the gap within an age group lessens over time (in 2001 the gap for 35-39 year olds was 16.3% compared to 9.4% in 2016), while the other is more concerning: the older a woman architect gets the wider the pay gap becomes.

Gender pay gap for full time workers in architecture, 2016

The gender-based pay gap persists in architecture, and increases with age.


A McKinsey report released this month on women in the workplace says companies need to make more decisive action and start “treating gender diversity like the business priority it is” by setting targets and holding leaders accountable for results.

“If we are to see equivalent and serious change in the metrics that currently demonstrate the continuing inequity in the profession, we need more than individual women “doing it for themselves,” as successful as that has been,” Matthewson says.

“The message of the power and importance of equity needs to be activated in every nook and cranny of the architecture profession, individually and collectively.”

OtherAustraliaMelbourneArchitecturePolicyPolicy
AUTHOR
Ana Narvaez
The Urban Developer - Editorial Director
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Parallel Workshops Stockdale Housing PBSA project
Exclusive

Suburban Success Story Turns PBSA Thinking on its Head

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Exclusive

Interstate Developers Find Lots to Love in ‘Progressive, Affordable’ SA

Taryn Paris
5 Min
Bates Smart Richmond Sportslink HERO
Exclusive

BtR Focus Drives Bates Smart’s Richmond Sportslink Concept

Leon Della Bosca
6 Min
Exclusive

Carparking Correlation: How Parking Fees Provide Office Sector Health Check

Taryn Paris
6 Min
Molti chief Ben Teague out front of 32 Mercer Road Aramadale (rendering)
Exclusive

Buy to the Sound of Cannons: Molti’s Counter-Cyclical Move to Melbourne

Leon Della Bosca
5 Min
View All >
Third.i Crows Nest Dolls House render EDM
Build-to-Rent

Thirdi Scraps Office Tower for Crows Nest Over-Station Site

Vanessa Croll
Parallel Workshops Stockdale Housing PBSA project
Exclusive

Suburban Success Story Turns PBSA Thinking on its Head

Leon Della Bosca
Warren and Mahoney's rendering of Leftfield's project at 691-693 Burke Road, in Melbourne's Camberwell.
Residential

Leftfield Lifts Cover on 14-Storey Scheme at Camberwell

Marisa Wikramanayake
The 57-apartment proposal at Camberwell comes as Melbourne’s move toward densification gain pace...
LATEST
Third.i Crows Nest Dolls House render EDM
Build-to-Rent

Thirdi Scraps Office Tower for Crows Nest Over-Station Site

Vanessa Croll
4 Min
Parallel Workshops Stockdale Housing PBSA project
Exclusive

Suburban Success Story Turns PBSA Thinking on its Head

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Warren and Mahoney's rendering of Leftfield's project at 691-693 Burke Road, in Melbourne's Camberwell.
Residential

Leftfield Lifts Cover on 14-Storey Scheme at Camberwell

Marisa Wikramanayake
3 Min
Kangaroo Point Aria Canopy House Revised DA Approval hero
Development

Aria’s Revised Tower Greenlit for Inner-City Kangaroo Point

Phil Bartsch
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/where-do-all-the-women-go-architecture-still-has-a-gender-equity-problem