Answering the question of what I want to know took me longer than I expected. Although it is clear that gender inequality is present in most of the aspects of society, motivation to start an investigation of a specific domain came when I could link it to my past and present experiences.
As a teenager, a mentor dissuaded me from studying architecture and to choose a career more appropriate for a woman. This semester I am a TA for the course of Intro to Western Architecture, where the majority of the architectural students are male, and where all historical references are of male architects. Without conducting any research, my initial impression was that the architecture profession is highly male-dominated, especially in decision-making positions. This means that the buildings and spaces inhabited by the whole population are designed mostly by men, even those spaces that have been traditionally linked to women’s activities, such as the house. So, my starting question was how is gender inequality measured in the architecture profession?
The indicators of women’s education in architecture and their participation in the architectural profession at several stages of their careers were the most revealing source of information. But there were many limitations in finding cross-national indicators, as I will discuss later. In the case of the United States, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCED) showed that in 2013, 43% of total enrolled students in architecture programs were females, and according to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) in 2016, 46% of newly licensed architects were women. This almost gender equality situation drastically changes when considering the percentages of women in top positions of architectural firms or architecture schools. Data from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) was the most cited resource. This 2014 research looked at women architects in different positions, starting from students and interns and reaching leadership positions, such as chair or director in architecture schools, distinguished professors, and winners of renowned International awards. According to the American Institute of Architects, 15% of licensed architects were women, and 19% of 86 deans at US architecture schools were women.
Indicators that considered the architectural practice on a transnational lever were limited. Even surveys that supposedly presented a worldwide view, their data collection came from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Other research used the data available on the websites of the world’s 100 biggest architecture firms (in terms of total workers or projects built), of which only three are headed by women, while only two have management teams with a majority of women. A ranking of countries according to the ratio of male to female architects in the architectural field, presented among the top countries Vietnam (0.7 male architects per female architect) Turkey (0.8 male architects per female architect), Sweden and Norway (1 male architect per female architect), Germany and France ((1.3 male architects per female architect) and Spain (1.4 male architects per female architect), while the countries with a more male-dominated architectural field were Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. More details about these statistics required to be purchased. It is important to notice that they did not take into account hierarchy, decision-making or leadership positions.
My research was conducted in English, which affected the outcome: most of the data I found was centered in English-speaking countries. It was mainly through articles from online architecture magazines that I found the reference to specific sources of data. One question that I keep having is if research that only looks at the major international firms, instead of looking at a country case-by-case could be relevant. The main reason why I will think it would be valuable is because these companies construct worldwide and often set an example for local architects.
Sources:
https://www.arch2o.com/survey-shows-best-and-worst-countries-for-female-architects/
https://www.archdaily.com/200761/reframing-the-stats-about-architecture
https://www.architectural-review.com/10017497.article