Women architects carving themselves a space

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["a",["href","http:\/\/www.aiawls.org\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/scharrerad.com\/","target","_new"]],["em"],["a",["href","https:\/\/hga.com\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.colehil.com\/","target","_new"]],["i"],["strong"],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.djr-inc.com\/","target","_new"]],["b"],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en","target","_new"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.aia.org\/practicing\/AIAB107193","target","_new"]]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"300 architects convened to start closing\nthe gender gap"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The gender gap remains one of the biggest\n challenges facing architecture. Women constitute only 18 percent of all\n registered architects in the United States. The "],[0,[0],1,"2015 Women\u2019s\nLeadership Summit"],[0,[],0,", which convened 300 architects at all levels\nlast month in Seattle, offered a forum to address strategies that support women\nin the workplace.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThere is a demand\u2014a demand to continue the conversation and make change,\u201d said Christine Scharrer, AIA, a Summit co-chair and\n principal at Seattle-based "],[0,[1],1,"Scharrer Architecture \u0026 Design"],[0,[],0,". \u201cA big\n indication of success for women leaders is the fact that this event sold out\n a month in advance.\u201d\n One of the Summit\u2019s biggest announcements centered on\n \u201cDiversity in the Profession of Architecture,\u201d a report based on feedback\n from more than 7,500 participants that outlined job satisfaction, work-life\n balance, and transparency in career stages.\n \n \n \n \n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The report, commissioned by the AIA, indicated that\n in determining why women are underrepresented, both men and women describe\n the difficulty architects have with balancing their personal lives and professional workloads. Both groups also worry that those who do leave the\n profession to raise families face tough challenges when they return, such as\n learning new skills to stay current with technology or being passed over for\n significant work opportunities."]]],[1,"blockquote",[[0,[2],1,"\u0022Yes\u2014we can always improve\u2014but you are not the reason people have a hard time\n accepting your leadership.\u0022 "],[0,[],0,"Damaris Hollingsworth, AIA"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Many attendees agreed that the professional\n pipeline, which guides architecture students through graduation, their\n internships, and the licensure process, is a major catalyst for these\n challenges. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that we graduate 44 percent women and\n yet only 20 percent are in the AIA and even less are licensed,\u201d said Amy\n Kalar, AIA, a senior associate at "],[0,[3],1,"Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc"],[0,[],0,". \u201cThe\n pipeline analogy is so true. Why are they leaving? Where are they going? I\n personally, in my life, need these women in my profession. I need them as\n examples for me.\u201d For some attendees, the numbers provide a useful baseline\n for improvement. \n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cIt\u2019s relieving to see the data because it\u2019s good\n to know that people recognize it,\u201d said Summit attendee Nicole Hilton, AIA, a\n partner of Douglasville, Ga.\u2013based "],[0,[4],1,"Cole Hil, LLC"],[0,[],0,". \u201cYou don\u2019t feel like you have to endure it on your own. What excites me most is that we\u2019re trying to\n come up with a solution.\u201d\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Courtney E. Martin, author of "],[0,[5],1,"Do It Anyway: The\n New Generation of Activists "],[0,[],0,"and"],[0,[5],1," "],[0,[],0,"the forthcoming "],[0,[5],1,"The New Better Off"],[0,[],0,", explained that the inequities that women architects face on a daily basis are not unique to architecture, but they are exacerbated by the unique quality of architecture\u2019s workplace culture, frequent isolation, punishing deadlines, and rigid firm hierarchies. Martin noted that in\n architecture, it\u2019s difficult to break in, and it\u2019s even more difficult to\n remain positive once you get there. Not seeing people of color or women in\n leadership roles can be \u201cdispiriting,\u201d she said."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to feel like you don\u2019t belong in powerful\n positions,\u201d said Martin. \n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[6],1,"Change Agents "],[0,[],0," "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In convening a cadre of change-minded women, Summit\n organizers hoped to drum up both a sense of comradery and a set of\n recommendations to change the culture of architecture. All agreed that the diversity and inclusion challenges faced by architecture are systemic, and\n systemic change requires commitment across generations."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"When asked what advice she would give to her\n younger self, Summit attendee Damaris Hollingsworth, AIA, a project manager\n with Minneapolis-based "],[0,[7],1,"DJR Architecture"],[0,[],0,", said, \u201cRemember that it\u2019s not you.\n Yes\u2014we can always improve\u2014but you are not the reason people have a hard time\n accepting your leadership.\u201d\n \n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Martin sees systemic change as a grassroots effort\n at the firm level that relies on two key strategies centered on mentorship\n and endurance. She offered specific tactics that women can employ to continue laying the groundwork for change:\n \n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"1. Be yourself."],[0,[],0," Martin encouraged the women in the audience to talk about their lives often\n with others and exude their authenticity. \u201cKill the myth of meritocracy,\u201d she\n said. \u201cTell the story of how you got into the profession, and own the ways in which you were helped along by privileges.\u201d\n \n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[6],1,"2. Correct your own professionalization."],[0,[],0," \u201cThere are still vestiges of sexism,\u201d Martin said, who further explained the\n benefits of \u201c"],[0,[9],1,"power posing "],[0,[],0,".\u201d Martin described the benefits of being aware of your own body language and how it impacts the way women present themselves and communicate to others.\n \n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"3. Meet up regularly."],[0,[],0," Often women get pitted against each other, and Martin challenged the audience to refuse this in every way possible. Martin recommended planning casual get-togethers for the women in each firm, and meet once a month to talk about life and work and how to juggle it all.\n \n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"4. Humor."],[0,[],0,"\n Martin believes that what\u2019s missing most from inclusion is humor. \u201cWe can motivate people through humor,\u201d she said.\n \n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[8],1,"5. Stay in for the long haul."],[0,[],0," Martin emphasized that change takes time, and the more women we have that\n will stick with it, the greater change we\u2019ll see.\n "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n "],[0,[5],0,"Watch the "],[0,[10],1,"video recap"],[0,[],1," of the event in Seattle. "],[0,[2],1,"The\nnext Women\u2019s Leadership Summit will be hosted by the AIA Northern Virginia\nWomen in Architecture Committee in 2017."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[5],1,"Caitlin Reagan is a digital content manager for the AIA."]]]]}