From the Tas Chapter President

From the Tas Chapter President

18 March 2019

Image: Jonathon Wherrett

A notable architect and ex-president of the NSW Chapter of the Institute once remarked that ‘gender equity was the issue of our time’. 

As the celebrations around International Women’s Day subside, it is important to reflect on what this means for our profession. Despite increasing numbers of women in the workforce, inequality remains:

  • women represent 50.8% of the general population but only 31% of the architectural workforce;
  • from the ages of 25-40 the number of men in the profession remains stable whilst the numbers on women decrease by 50% – there are many reasons for this, however the most sobering static is that the next decade 40-50 age group: instead of bottoming out, this trend continues reducing by another 50%;
  • more than 77% of women are employees rather than owners;
  • the gender pay gap persists generally across the board, however, the 25–29 age group has near equal numbers of women and men participating with similar levels of experience and yet a gender pay gap of 5.2% exists.

The Institute’s National Gender Equity Policy recognises that, ‘many systemic, often unintended and largely invisible effects continue to impact on the participation and progression of women within the Australian workforce, and specifically within the architecture profession.’

Over the last 15 years statistics suggest that there have been some incremental improvements.

The Parlour Census Report 2001–2016: Women in Architecture in Australia maps comparative statistics from 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 and despite the inequity, there has been incremental improvement over each census period:

  • women are increasing their proportion of the architectural workforce, and are increasingly owners of architectural practices;
  • the proportion of women becoming registered is closer to their graduation rate;
  • from 2011 to 2016 there was equitable attrition of men and women from architecture for those aged over forty;
  • while a long-hour culture is still prevalent in the architecture profession, particularly for men, there has been an easing off in recorded working hours since the 2001 census.

You can read the report here.

However, we still have a long way to go to achieve equity. So, what can we do?

  • call out unacceptable behaviour and support those around you who do also;
  • remove the pay gap;
  • create flexible workplaces supporting each employee’s diverse situation;
  • reduce the propensity for long hours and provide flexibility and opportunities for part time work;
  • make work meaningful for all whether full time or part time;
  • provide mentoring and support for women towards registration and into leadership positions;
  • provide opportunities and pathways for career progression for all;
  • get involved with your local Institute Chapter Committee for Gender Equity;
  • apply the Insitute’s Gender Equity Policy to your practice;
  • nominate a practitioner for the Paula Whitman-Leadership in Gender Equity Prize;
  • offer the Institute’s Parental Leave – Special Circumstances Membership to employers on parental leave;
  • get involved with Male Champions for Change;
  • support the Findlay Project locally.

The Institute has a National Committee for Gender Equity if you would like to learn more about this issue. Start by checking out the Institute’s National Committee for Gender Equity web page and read the Institute’s Gender Equity Policy as well as some of the other interesting articles and links.

http://www.architecture.com.au/councils-committees/national/national-committee-for-gender-equity

Also, try Parlour. Parlour is an Australian resource for research, informed opinion on women, equity and architecture.

https://archiparlour.org

Here in the Tasmanian Chapter of the Institute, we are proud to have an equitable and diverse representation of voices on Chapter Council.

Genevieve Lilley is the Tasmanian Representative on the National Committee for Gender Equity. If anyone has any queries about this committee or the work that they are doing, please ask Genevieve. For anyone interested in being a part of this committee, keep an eye on the e-news over the next few weeks and when this vacancy is advertised, I encourage you to make an application.

Shamus Mulcahy RAIA
President, Tasmanian Chapter,
Australian Institute of Architects