December, 2014. Barely coming out of the recession, I was working on commercial/ light industrial projects as an independent architectural consultant while balancing raising my two daughters, fourteen and eight at the time. Although architecture as a profession was clawing its way up from the Great Housing Depression, not everyone was employed to maximize their abilities. Being an immigrant woman of color, a mother, and a recent transplant from Pasadena to Irvine, I didn’t have the network and resources I needed to connect with companies that aligned with my interests. At that point, I was not a member of AIA Orange County yet. One fine day, while surfing the internet for current and relevant articles on architecture, I came across Rosa Sheng, and the initiative (originally known as) “The Missing 32%”. That was the straw I was looking to grasp, and I haven’t looked back ever since.

#EQxDV Plus One Scholarship Recipients and Mentors

This year, I was selected to participate in the “Plus One” scholarship program for 2018 Equity by Design Symposium. In celebration of the #EQxDV 5 year founding anniversary, Equity by Design paid it forward with five “Plus One” scholarships for students and emerging professionals to attend the symposium, and connect with five EQxD Mentors/ Champions to share insights on their careers in the built environment. My fellow “Plus One” cohorts were Olga Bracamontes, Taylor Holloway, Maggie Gaudio, and Itria Licitra. We were each paired with a mentor, and mine was Mani Ardalan Farhadi.

Mani and I have known each other virtually for the past year, bonding over topics related to archimoms (mothers in the profession of architecture) and equitable future in the profession. She is a Senior Facilities Planner at Stanford School of Medicine, “Thought Leader” with Equity by Design, “Citizen Architect” formerly on the Los Gatos Union School District Board, Publicist at AIA Silicon Valley’s Women in Architecture Committee, and former blog editor at the Iranian American Women Foundation. It was a perfect mentor-mentee pair, with similar (and several!) work and life integration/ challenge parallels.

“What we see is that the gap between white men and women has narrowed, but meanwhile the gap between white men and people of color has gotten wider over time,”

— Annelise Pitts, AIA, (The 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey Encourages Industry Soul-Searching, Metropolis Magazine, November 13, 2018, Lydia Lee)

As a volunteer for the survey preparation and an AIA member taking the survey, this was a surreal moment where I was part of past, present and future of an equitable profession. Reality in the shape of graphs stared at me, and I wondered, why the denial? More data followed, showing how women of color with a master’s degree in architecture will earn significantly less than a white male with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Natalie Tse, a presenter of “Building an Equitable Workplace from the Bottom Up”

I attended a break out session titled “Building an Equitable Workplace from the Bottom Up”, and listened to Natalie Tse share her story of juggling caregiving and a career as a structural engineer, while also being the cofounder of SE3 Project (geared towards equitable future in Structural Engineering). Natalie’s story of Asian upbringing and the need for self-care resonated with me. As a mother of two, with a full-time job,the Chair of Women in Architecture Committee for AIA Orange County, as well as an ARE test taker, I admit that self-care is on the bottom of my list. Post symposium, I am rethinking self-care, and have made a promise to myself to never let my sleep or health suffer for anything.

During lunch break, the courtyard at the San Francisco Art Institute was filled with the energy and diverse voices of architecture, who were ready to transform the future of the profession. We networked, exchanged contact information, shared our stories, and wished each other success in our chosen paths. We got lunch and broke out into smaller groups.

Mani and I shared our backgrounds and stories. Within minutes into the conversation, Mani gave tips on how to handle performance reviews and negotiate for promotions/ pay raises. She explained how to prepare a folder with printed material and communication showcasing my accomplishments throughout the year, document over-time hours, and all examples that demonstrate going above and beyond my job duties. She advised me to do market research, be assertive, and acknowledge what I deserved without hesitation. Unfortunately I had just finished my review before the symposium, but there is always next year! I am so grateful for this unique experience. Mani is everything I would like to be as an archimom down the lane, willing to share her struggles, her triumphs, and her journey.

Later in the afternoon, I attended the breakout session “Chart Your Path” with Lilian Asperin (left) and Jill Bergman (right). This session integrated work, life, and everything that requires strategic mapping of professional development. Lilian shared her story (I Unsubscribed), and her visual mapping method using analogue tools (post-its!) to find patterns that guide your decision making. Jill shared how you can add more to who you are with a strategic growth plan. I worked on Jill’s method, and realized that I have a short term goal, a long term goal, but not a vision! This was my biggest take-away from the symposium. Seemingly simple, yet complicated when you sit down with a pen and paper. The path is never linear but the plan is, with the ability to meander and course-correct.

Rosa Sheng’s inspirational keynote at the end of the symposium brought almost everyone to tears, as she shared the story of her archimom’s dinner invitation with Steve Jobs. It was very sentimental, touching, and inspiring at the same time. Networking in the courtyard followed, with everyone sharing their takeaways and influences from the symposium. I made new friends, met my social media friends and influences, and connected with more like-minded people.

The EQxDV Symposium was inspiring and energizing, and there is a renewed fire within my soul to do more, to be more.

Two weeks after the symposium, I have taken my plans and goals more seriously than ever. A lot of thought has gone into the direction I want my career to take. The vision board is still a work in progress, and I know there will be challenges in the years to come as I transition from an actively involved parent to an empty nester to primary care-giving. But, to make this vision my own, and not my employer’s or my mentor’s, will help me become my authentic self and give my heart and soul to what I truly believe in.

When I drove to the symposium, I knew I was joining the Board of Directors for AIA Orange County, but I didn’t have a two-year plan. Post symposium, I know what I want to work towards… I am the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - aligning with the Strategic Plan developed by AIA Orange County. In that role, I will be the champion of change and an advocate for equity, or a JEDI Master (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) as Rosa Sheng puts it.

"Their goal wasn't to stand out because of their differences; it was to fit in because of their talents.”

- Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures

This quote sums up what women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ aspire to achieve through an equitable framework for a better future. In an ideal world, nothing other than work ethics and talents should matter. Unfortunately, we need equitable frameworks, knowledge and intercultural intelligence (ICQ) to help dismantle the system barriers that prevent advancement. Architecture is a profession that can benefit from diverse experiences to shape our built communities. No one should feel stifled because of their gender, color or race. Let the learnings from the symposium empower us to seek champions and pay it forward by mentoring the next generation.

My tweets from the symposium: @meghanaira

My Instagram story from the symposium: @meghanaira

If you liked this post, please view the other posts here:

#EQxDV “Plus One” Voices: Speaking Up is Hard

#EQxDV “Plus One” The More You Do, The More You Can Do

#EQxDV "Plus One" Voices: How one day can impact your life

#EQxDV: "Plus One" Voices: Belonging Together

#EQxDV “Plus One” Voices: Change starts with Conversation and Community

Written by Taylor Holloway

Speaking up is hard. Being the only one is hard. Succeeding in your profession without an abundance of support, peers, or mentors with shared commonalities, is even harder.

The #EQxDV Symposium, the 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey, and the AIA Guides for Equitable Practice, are the courageous efforts that give validity to the systemic, accepted, and covert, biases and injustices within architectural education and practice since the history of United States. Prior to the #EQxDV Symposium, I had never been able to articulate, voice, or discuss my experience of architectural education and practice that 90% of licensed architects have not experienced, and largely, cannot comprehend.

#EQxDV “Plus One” Scholarship Winners and Mentors - (Left to Right) Taylor Holloway, Jill Bergman, Olga Bracamontes, Frances Choun, Maggie Gaudio, Meghana Joshi, Mani Farhadi, Saskia Dennis-van Dijl, Itria Licitra. (Patricia Ramallo not pictured) Ph… — #EQxDV “Plus One” Scholarship Winners and Mentors - (Left to Right) Taylor Holloway, Jill Bergman, Olga Bracamontes, Frances Choun, Maggie Gaudio, Meghana Joshi, Mani Farhadi, Saskia Dennis-van Dijl, Itria Licitra. (Patricia Ramallo not pictured) Photo credit: Jordan A. Lim.

#EQxDV 5th Sold-Out Symposium at San Francisco Art Institute - November 3rd, 2018. Photo Credit: Andre Pennycooke

For the first time ever, alongside a band of driven equity and justice warriors, I recognized that I was not alone in my experience both at school and in practice. I am not alone in being the only black woman in my graduate M.Arch class. I am not alone in being told by firm leadership that I was “just was not a good fit” irrespective of my professional performance. I am not alone in grappling with the reality, cost, and isolation of being the first generation in my family to attend college as well as the first to attend graduate school. And most importantly, I am not alone in deciding to commit myself to changing the profession of architecture.

The #EQxDV Symposium was undoubtedly an exceptional event, but more so, it was a space of true dichotomy. It is a space where both pain and joy were unearthed. It is a space where both fact and feeling were examined. It is a space where both reality and the means for mobilizing a new reality convened. Above all, it is a space that architecture needs.

Intersectionality Workshop Presenters - (Right to Left) Rosa Sheng, Prescott Revis, Mani Farhadi, and A.L. Hu. Photo by Taylor Holloway.

During a morning workshop - Intersectionality and Intercultural Intelligence, we utilized Milton Bennett’s Intercultural Development Continuum to aid us in pinpointing our personal Intercultural Mindsets. Our talented and patient facilitators helped participants identify how we each dis-engage with or actively integrate our understanding of cultural difference into our lives. Applying actionable tools and processes to confront inequity and bias that exists in all forms of professional practice, not just architecture, isn’t impossible--but it is work. It is work that requires iteration and a conscientious effort to be inclusive and self-aware.

Intersectionality Workshop Participants - Photo by Andre Pennycooke.

Among the many learnings I drew from the Intersectionality workshop and the Symposium, what resounded most is that moving towards equity, justice, diversity and inclusion is not solely the work of the underrepresented. It is the work of all of us. Only in collaboration and from a place of openness can architecture emerge on the other side of history as an adaptable, valued, relevant, and evolving profession.

Voices Panel - Kevin Holland, Diana Jacobs, Julia V. Mandell, Tiffany Brown, and A.L. Hu. Photo credit by Wanda Lau

Tiffany Brown, the founder of 400 Forward, spoke at the Symposium about whether it is fair to steward African American women into a field where they will be underrepresented and undercompensated. And it is true; according to the 2018 Equity In Architecture survey data, black women in architecture may find themselves possessing a master’s degree and still earning less than a white male counterpart with only a bachelor's degree. And it is true; in 2018 we’re still addressing whether a millennia old profession can be made equitable enough to include individuals of different races, creeds, gender identities, socio-economic backgrounds. Yet everyone at the #EQxDV Symposium was in attendance because they possess a belief, or at a minimum a hope, that the evolution and relevance we seek as a profession, will only come after we have made space for the very populations architecture never intended to make space for.

This past week I had the privilege of witnessing Tamara Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement, give a keynote address. Listening to Tamara, I began to fully understand that those of us working to overcome an injustice or a form of trauma can only do so if made aware that we are not alone. The EQxDV Symposium exists not simply to affirm the profession’s real challenges of inequity and bias, but to serve as a foundation and wellspring of encouragement for the efforts that are propelling the profession forward and ushering in new generations of designers, architects, and leaders.

The #EQxDV Symposium was a gathering of the most welcoming and authentic group of individuals in the profession that I have ever encountered. It is also the only gathering of architects I have ever seen collectively decide that they care enough about the profession to mobilize and develop strategies to evolve the field so that its future may look nothing like its past. It was an honor to attend the 5th Equity by Design Symposium, and I reiterate: it is a space that architecture needs.