An audience of over 50 people convened at the AIA Center for Architecture on the the evening of Wednesday, November 6th, to listen in on a panel discussion titled, "Careers in the Balance". This conversation is the first in a series of events and discussions focusing on life/work balance put on by the AIA's ForWARD Committee, a Forum for Women Architects and Related Disciplines. The panelists included architects in large firms, husband/wife partnerships, those in sole proprietorships and the president of an engineering firm. The influence of Sheryl Sandberg, author of the ubiquitous "Lean In", was evident from the start as the evening's moderator began with a thought provoking quote about nobody having it all, or at least no one admitting to having successfully figured it all out. Indicating perhaps, that even this word "life/work balance" is an unrealistic ambition, which I believe was unwittingly revealed through the evening's discourse; but this being a very subjective topic, I will let you decide…..
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There has been much discussion raised about "Why are women leaving Architecture? and more broadly, Why is the profession losing key talent?" Both women and men practitioners are disillusioned by the myth of work/life balance: Women are grappling with "have it all" expectations of juggling family time with the demands of full-time work. Men are struggling to support their families solely on an architect's salary and fall back on asking spouses to maintain their jobs. The lack of affordable childcare and high cost of living only magnifies the challenges. How did we end up in this modern family dilemma? What can we do to improve the situation?
Notes from Nola: Design Forward Conference 2013
The Design Forward Conference held in New Orleans on October 18, 2013 was a huge success for bringing into light so many of the common themes that The Missing 32% project also seeks to explore.
There was an interesting (and I thought appropriate) balance of students and professionals. The conference was held at the Tulane School of Architecture, giving terrific access to the current student body. There was also a balance of men and women from the industry, who participated, both as attendees and as panelists. This was intentional and varies from tendency for women dominant participation at similar events including the past Missing 32% Symposiums and the recent AIA Women's Leadership Summit in Phoenix.
Read MoreStrength in numbers: Making quotas matter for women
Women are “trending,” again.
As the women’s movement moves from voting booth to bedroom to boardroom, strategy seems to have shifted as well: if you can’t lick ‘em, “lean in” (preferably with statistics, solutions and a social media plan).
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Courtesy of Wikipedia. The Elephant in the Room
by Banksy Barely Legal, LA 2006
Initiating Equitable Practice: Outing the Elephant in the Room
"Why are women leaving Architecture? and "Why is Architecture is loosing its talent?" The problem seems obvious, while the solution remains complex and somewhat elusive like the proverbial elephant in the room.
Last Friday, a colleague and I gave an office presentation of lessons learned from our attendance at the AIA Women's Leadership Summit in Phoenix. It was a refreshing surprise to see many men, including a Principal and Senior Associates, in attendance. While I didn't know what to expect, I was encouraged by the resulting dialogue between men and women on topics ranging from flexible work schedules for caregivers, an increasing need to align project teams with today's diverse Client profile, as well as the lack of Paid Family leave policy in the US compared to other developed nations; key issues at the tip of the iceberg in the rapidly evaporating Architectural talent pool with women leaving at a faster rate than men. Although the outcome of this particular event was very positive and encouraging, it left me wondering.
"Why do we tend to shy away from having these conversations about the issues that matter most and ultimately affect us all?"Read More
Could Men Do More by Doing Less?
The recent Sunday New York Times featured Hannah Seligson’s article “Page by Page, Men Are Stepping Into the Circle”. Framed by the encouraging news that many male leaders and employees in corporations and upstart tech businesses have begun to embrace the concepts of Sheryl Sandberg’s book, we learn that there are a significant number of men “Leaning In”; embracing ideas about equity in the workplace and learning that the concept of creating a level playing field not only supports the push toward women being promoted for their promise as well as their achievements, but that these same equity concepts have a parallel benefit to men’s lives.
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