Gender equity

Research

Despite graduation rates in near equal numbers for the past three decades, there remains a distinct under-representation of women in senior roles in Australian architectural practice. Continuing research has highlighted the critical importance of ongoing promotion, support and advocacy for gender equity in workplaces across the profession. This includes the need for more robust guidelines and policies targeting cultural change to overcome structural disadvantage and bias that will enable greater diversity and help progress the industry as a whole.

Research undertaken by the Equity and Diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession: Women, Work and Leadership project (2011-2014) assessed ‘patterns of women’s participation, progression and representation in the architectural profession, paying attention to women’s under-representation in senior management’.¹

Subsequently, to build upon the previous research report, Parlour issued the Parlour Census Report (Matheson 2018) which assessed the data from four censuses to inform a picture of the architectural profession in the 21st century.

While there were increases in participation and registration there still exists a gendered pay gap and gender-biased culture within the profession.

The main obstacles to continued participation, progression and involvement in mainstream architectural practice have been attributed to inflexibility in work practices, lack of support (in design thinking, sponsorship, practice diversification and leadership) and cultural/systemic impediments (Burns 2014; Singha 2018; Nicholson 2020; Burns 2021) to name a few.

The benefits of a gender-diverse workforce to the architectural profession are invaluable. Not only will the wide perspectives added to architectural discourse allow for a richer body of design experience and outcomes, a diverse workforce enables increased collaboration, flexibility and resilience for all practitioners. An architectural community that better reflects the society it lives and practices in will advocate for and increase the opportunities for all, not just women (Hunt, Layton and Prince 2015).

Additional action and research has been undertaken by larger and more mainstream practices. In 2021 The Champions of Change Coalition Architects Group (collectively representing 18 member practices across 11 jurisdictions) committed to actively advancing gender equity across their practices and acting as advocates for gender equality within the profession. The 2018-2020 Progress Report documents their approach to ‘Listen, Learn, and Lead’ through action, detailing survey results and key themes from 500 participants that has led to 14 core actions applicable to individuals, practice and industry (Champions of Change Architects 2020).

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Guidelines

Guided by previous research and work by the researchers and Parlour (Burns, Clark, Stead et al. 2014) a key outcome was to establish a national policy on equity and diversity in the architecture profession. The Australian Institute of Architects (the Institute) Gender Equity Policy establishes ten best practice principles designed to maximise fair and equitable access to opportunities and encourage participation for women in architecture. The ten best practice principles are:

1. Acknowledge the profession’s obligation to accommodate the diverse needs of the community.
2. Recognise and respond effectively to the diversity of members.
3. Incorporate provisions to ensure gender equitable outcomes in all new Institute initiatives.
4. Communicate the value of women in leadership roles.
5. Promote equality of employment arrangements.
6. Support the development of alternative and flexible career pathways within the profession.
7. Develop mentorships and networks.
8. Educate the profession about the impact of gender stereotypes.
9. Actively seek input on the needs of women members.
10. Develop and coordinate specific programs to give effect to this gender equity policy.

Strategies for the implementation of these principles relate to the topics addressed in the Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice (Clark, Stead et al. 2014). The Institute was Parlour’s inaugural principal partner.

Gender equity in architecture is promoted through Parlour’s rigorous research, debate, discussion and story sharing from the many women who contribute to the Australian architecture profession. Addressed to practices, employees and the wider profession, the guides consider the issues facing women in architectural practice and provide strategies for change to a more equitable profession. They focus on topics that concern all members of the architecture profession, with the intent of providing reference for architects seeking a more inclusive profession, and ultimately how all can achieve a better balance in their professional and personal lives, realise their full potential, and stay in the profession.

By reviewing these ‘best practice’ guides, and participating in workplace changes, practices have been implementing various incentives for their staff. While there may not be an opportunity for all policies/guides to be included at once, a number have been put into place with increasingly positive reception.

Some examples of the incentives that practices have been incorporating (the list is not exhaustive) are:

• active mentoring
• continuation of super during parental leave
• fertility treatment leave days
• flexible hours
• flexible locations
• flexible roles
• gender reassignment leave
• growth/leadership programs. 
• ‘life-leave’ for employees who want to balance working with caring
• menstruation leave
• parental/family leave for any parents*
• partially paid childcare on return to work
• return to work/ roadmap back to practice
• sponsorship
• volunteering and other life choices

* The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022 passed both houses. The new legislation provides more support to parents so they can take time off work to be with their children. The changes have come into effect for parents whose children are born or adopted from 1 July 2023. For more information, please see Ministers for the Department of Social Services media release.

Parlour, in collaboration with the Association of Consulting Architects (ACA) and the Champions of Change Architecture (CoCA) have implemented the ‘Stepping up’ series as an event and editorial series to find out about more equitable policies being put into practice, the lessons being learned and the change brought about by these processes (Clark, Edwards et al. 2022).

The Institute’s National Committee for Gender Equity (NCGE) is currently developing a Diversity and Inclusion Policy, to enable the Institute to provide an inclusive framework to operate within that will expand and compliment the already established NCGE and First Nations Advisory Working Group.

The NCGE has curated a list of resources for members (see Toolkits and further reading). An Institute-specific Diversity & Inclusion policy is currently being developed for members. The NCGE is also developing a specific toolkit for the architecture community to facilitate awareness, engagement and progression of gender equity within the profession. Note that the topics of gender, equity, diversity and inclusion are evolving with ongoing development of policy frameworks and initiatives. Please review practice notes, the Institute and its policies for updates.

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Toolkits and further reading

• Champions of Change Coalition and Architects Champions of Change Progress Report
• Closing the pay gap: Changes to WGEA employer reporting obligations - the Institute's summary of the WGEA Reporting on Gender Pay Gap.
• Gender Equity Toolkit – Leyla Acaroglu’s designed toolkit is intended to ‘help bust through tightly held gender biases that impede equality’ (Acaroglu 2016).
• Parlour Guides to Equitable practice
• The Creative Equity Tookit website – for resources on cultural diversity in the creative sector.
• The Gender Equality Act 2020 – applies to public sector, universities and local councils of more than 50 staff. For Victorian members or those working within Victoria.
• The Victorian Building Equality Policy
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency – practice and professional obligations information is available here.

Glossaries:

• The Victorian Government Inclusive Language Guide
• The Australian Government Style Manual - Gender and sexual diversity

The following resources are available through the Institute's HR Hub as below:

• A Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan guide
• Family/domestic violence leave (including policy)
• Flexibility in the workplace
• HR policies and procedures
• Parental leave policy (including sample policy)
• Protections at work 

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References

• Acaroglu L (2016) The Gender Equity Toolkit: A Design Intervention that Busts Gender Bias Through Equity and Empathy, Medium website.
• Burns K (2012) Women in Architecture, Parlour website.
• Burns K (2014) Why do all the Women Leave?, Parlour website.
• Burns K, Clark J, Stead N et al. (2014) Equity and Diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession: Women, Work and Leadership (2011–2014), Parlour website.
• Champions of Change Architects (2020), Architects Champions of Change, Progress Report [PDF], Champions of Change Coalition, Champions of Change Architects website.
• Clark J, Edwards M, et al. (2022). Stepping Up, Parlour website
• Clark J, Stead N et al. (2014) Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice, Parlour website.
• Gill M (2015) “Dimensions of Gender: Women’s Careers in the Australian Architecture Profession”, University of Queensland.
• Hunt V, Layton D and Prince S (2015) Why Diversity Matters, McKinsey and Company website.
• Matheson G (2018) Parlour Census Report, Parlour website.
• Nicholson K (2020) Where Are the Women? Measuring Progress on Gender in Architecture, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ASCA) website.
• Singha S (2018) Women in architecture: critical concepts, Research Gate website, accessed 24 September 2021.
• Stead N, Willis J, Kaji-O’Grady S, Whitehouse G, Savage S, Clark J, Burns K, Roan A (2011-2014) “Equity and Diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession: Women, Work, and Leadership”, Australian Research Council Linkage Project LP100200107.

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Footnotes

1. Funded by an Australian Research Council grant (2011–2014), the project had five industry partners: the Australian Institute of Architects (National Chapter), Architecture Media, Bates Smart Architects, BVN Architecture and PTW Architects. The research team of scholars from five universities identified obstacles for women's participation and progression in architecture, along with good practice examples. It examined the contributions of women architects to the profession and the built environment as well as the benefits of a gender-diverse workforce. The findings highlighted 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 (Gill 2015; Stead, Willis, Kaji-O’Grady, Whitehouse, Savage, Clark, Burns and Roan 2011-2014).

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The National Committee for Gender Equity (NCGE) kindly contributed to the review and update of this note.