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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?

#EQxDM3 Behind the Scenes: Firm Strategies for Implementing Change

It's October! With less than a month away from AIASF's 4th Symposium - Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices, EQxD Blog will be featuring "behind the scenes" interviews with the facilitators of the Symposium Break Out Sessions for Career Dynamics and Pinch Points. Nicolette Mastrangelo, AIA shares her insights on working with the Thought Leaders to shape this Career Dynamics session.

Equity in Practice: Firm Strategies for Implementing Change.

#EQxDFirmStrategies

Recognizing that the individuals who make up a firm are its most valuable asset, many of today’s top firms, large and small, have made strides towards building more equitable workplaces in order to sustain lasting and competitive businesses. Four professionals in the industry will discuss specific strategies related to flexibility, performance review and promotion, recruitment and retention, and mentorship/sponsorship and advocacy. They will examine successes and lessons learned, and how these strategies can be implemented in order to positively influence equity in the profession of architecture. 

Thought Leaders and Facilitator:

Why were you interested in being a facilitator?

Nicolette Mastrangelo, AIA - Facilitator 

Nicolette Mastrangelo, AIA - Facilitator 

As a young architect, I am passionate about issues of equity in the industry. My peers and I confront a sort of systemic change beginning to happen day in and day out at our firms and in our work. We are not only involved in the discussion but actively seeking out ways to participate in and shape innovative practices. The opportunity to collaborate with industry thought leaders on the subject immediately appealed to me. These women have some amazing stories to share and lessons learned. I’m hoping to share some of my own unique thoughts on how the association — in addition to employers and employees — can help shape the future of best practices and policies in the equitable architecture office.

 

How have the Career Pinch Points and/or Dynamics informed your session? 

The equity pinch points and dynamics act as a road map for what firms can do and are doing. When firms recognize the individual needs of employees at different stages in their careers, leadership can respond and address a variety of situations. A one-size-fits-all solution is not an equitable approach. Firm leaders need to drop the mantra, “If we did it for you, we’d have to do it for everyone.” Pluralism is the future of equitable architectural practice and the key to understanding the demographics within your firm (age, gender, leadership, etc.).  

 

Are there any a-ha’s that emerged from the process of working with your team?

There is an untapped outlet for advocacy at the association level. In addition to the bottom-up and top-down approaches being explored in architecture offices, the association could have significant advantages in influencing the entire AEC industry by making equity in practice less about changing individuals minds and more about changing systems. 

 

AIASF Equity by Design Symposium Sponsors

Special thanks to our amazing sponsors for their dedication and support. We look forward to seeing you there!

Meet the #EQxDM3 Thought Leaders and Keynote Speaker!

AIASF Equity by Design is excited to present our diverse group of Thought Leaders who will be contributing their expertise and experience to the Equity conversation on October 28 + 29th . We had an incredible list of talented professionals submit for the program and it was a difficult decision to come up with the final list. Regardless, we encourage everyone to join us for our 4th Symposium -  Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices. Find out more about each of them and the sessions they will be participating for October 28 + 29, 2016.

 

Featured Keynote Speaker

In her tenure as the founder of the 3% Conference, Kat Gordon is well versed and experiences at how to be an agent of change in Advertising, where only 3% of creative directors were women. Launched on September 27, 2012 in San Francisco, the 3% Conference has exploded into a 2-day, 800-person event in New York City, multi-city road shows throughout the year, a vibrant online community on multiple social platforms, a student scholarship fund, a creative award, and a business blog to support the crusade.

Kat Gordon's presentation is timely as a launchpad for our next chapter. By recalling her personal journey as an agent for change, Kat will share the key aspects of change leadership - transforming key discussions into strategic actions to affect the lasting outcomes that we desire for Equity in Architecture movement.

Introducing our #EQxDM3 Though Leaders

Joining our Keynote Speaker, Equity by Design Core Team, and AIASF Leadership, is a group of talented leaders, academics, and practitioners in the Equity movement both locally, nationally and abroad. We welcome you to join them in what promises to be an interactive and motivating day. Click here to find out more our Thought Leaders and their sessions on October 28 and 29th.

#EQxDChats No. 1 - Metrics Recap

We had a great turn out last Monday for our 1st of 3 #EQxDChats via Twitter to kick off the conversation about the upcoming 4th symposium Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices at the SF Art Institute on October 29th.  If you missed the conversation, you can catch up here via our Storify capture. Many thanks to all that participated! Don't miss our next 2 #EQxDChats in September and October.

  • #EQxDChats #2: Meaning – September 12th  - 12n-1pm PST
  • #EQxDChats #3: Matrices – October 10th - 12n-1pm PST

This year’s symposium theme: "Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter.

“Equity - Just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all can participate and prosper. The goals of equity must be to create conditions that allow all to reach their full potential. In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.”

Why Equity in Architecture Matters.

Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.

We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.  

We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.

We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.

At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 with a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Interspersed with these sessions we have designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops that encourage participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and applying matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.

 

 

#EQxDChats to Kick Off #EQxDM3 Symposium on 10/29!

We are launching the first ever #EQxDChats in the next 2 months to celebrate the upcoming AIASF Symposium 4 - Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning, + Metrics on October 29th. Each of the Twitter Live #EQxDChats will be framed around each of the the 3 Symposium Themes. So please mark your calendar and join us for all 3! Not on Twitter? It's easy to get an account and start connecting.

Follow @EquityxDesign or use #EQxDChats to follow the discussion on each of the Mondays.

#EQxDChats #1: Metrics -  August 15th  - 12n-1pm PST

#EQxDChats #2: Meaning – September 12th  - 12n-1pm PST

#EQxDChats #3: Matrices – October 10th - 12n-1pm PST

 

Early Bird Registration is now open from 8/1 - 8/31 for #EQxDM3 and we welcome everyone to join us - All architects at all levels for this much awaited event!

This year’s symposium theme: "Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter.

“Equity - Just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all can participate and prosper. The goals of equity must be to create conditions that allow all to reach their full potential. In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.”

Why Equity in Architecture Matters.

Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.

We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.  

We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.

We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.

At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 with a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Interspersed with these sessions we have designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops that encourage participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and applying matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.

 

THANKS TO #EQXDM3 SPONSORS FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!

Save the Date 10/29 - Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices

“Architecture has a serious problem today in that people who are not alike don’t communicate. I’m actually more interested in communicating with people I disagree with than people I agree with. To have a certain virtuosity of interpretation of every phenomenon is crucial. We’re working in a world where so many different cultures are operating at the same time each with their own value system. If you want to be relevant, you need to be open to an enormous multiplicity of values, interpretations, and readings. The old-fashioned Western ‘this is’ ‘that is’ is no longer tenable. We need to be intellectual and rigorous, but at the same time relativist.”
— Rem Koolhaas
Photos from Equity by Design Symposium 2014 at SF Art Institute

Photos from Equity by Design Symposium 2014 at SF Art Institute

Please save the date for the 4th Symposium of AIA SF "Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" on October 29, 2016 at the San Francisco Art Institute. The conversation that began in 2011 of the “missing 32%” in regards to the lack of women leaders in architecture has become an international movement with much broader depth and farther reach. Equity by Design is dedicated to achieving equitable practice in architecture in order to retain talent, advance the profession, and engage the public in understanding architecture’s true value proposition in creating accessible and just communities. 

This year’s symposium theme: "Metrics, Meaning & Matrices" builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter.

“Equity - Just and fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in which all can participate and prosper. The goals of equity must be to create conditions that allow all to reach their full potential. In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.”

Why Equity in Architecture Matters.

Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.

We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.  

We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.

We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.

At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the Equity in Architecture Survey 2016 with a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Interspersed with these sessions we have designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops that encourage participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and applying matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.

Call for Symposium Thought Leaders - 

We seek Thought Leaders on equitable practice to participate in the Symposium sessions which range from panel discussions of key findings from the Equity in Architecture survey to interactive break-out sessions geared toward action-oriented outcomes. We are looking for dynamic, collaborative, articulate thinkers with a unique perspective on the spectrum of topics involved with achieving equitable practice. We will begin accepting submissions starting May 31, 2016. Please look for the next blog post which will provide the link to the Thought Leader application.