More women are becoming architects – but will they stay?

The proximity of my filing deadline this month to International Women’s Day has been causing me to ponder what it is to be a woman in architecture. Historically, women existed on the fringe of traditional practice – making space for themselves as heavily invested patrons or starting careers in domestic architecture, where their ‘right’ to advise was less likely to be questioned due to women’s ‘inherent’ home-making skills. Times have obviously changed.

I am a woman, but in my career, frankly, this doesn’t come up very often. Ninety-five percent of the time, no one in the rooms I am in appears to care whether I am male or female – as long as I am able to make the decision, draw the drawing, or do the thing. In the vanishingly few instances when a personal characteristic of mine has been called out, it has most generally reflected more on the incompetence of the caller rather than the inherent inadequacy of me existing as a woman.

Not everyone is as lucky, but generally, simply employing women is no longer seen as a point of interest in architecture. Indeed, according to ARB data, if you are an architect below the age of thirty, you are now more likely to be a woman than a man.

Many point to gender pay gap data as showing institutional inequality in architecture. While I can see the argument, I am hoping to see improvements in longer-term trends.

Senior architects will earn more money than junior ones. Senior architects, in light of the student demographics thirty or forty years ago, are more likely to be men than women, accounting for much of the gap. We should therefore hope to see this gap naturally decrease as the demographics at the head of the profession begin to shift.

It seems that sometimes, when given space to reflect, women don’t always prioritise an architectural career as it is most traditionally defined

Gender pay gap reporting has only been mandatory in practices of over 250 staff since 2017. Eight years feels like a long time, but in terms of tracking the wider pay gap trends in architecture, I am not sure it is quite long enough to draw conclusions from. Careers in architecture are marathons, not sprints.

Pay gap reporting relative to seniority would give a more accurate picture – but this isn’t what’s published. Depressing as it seems, it may be hard to conclusively tell for another decade or so, when the talent pool from which experienced senior figures can be drawn should be less male-dominated.

Of course, the rising diversity of the senior talent pool relies on women remaining in architecture. I have been convinced for years that better maternity provision and, post-Covid, wider acceptance of flexible working would reduce the number of women leaving the profession in their mid-thirties.

I have seen many, many women successfully navigate motherhood, or other caring responsibilities, alongside successful architectural practice, but I am aware that this is one of the points at which women leave architecture. I have also seen many men embrace greater parental roles than were traditionally common – taking longer paternity leave and picking up more of the domestic workload. Times do seem to be changing.

In my limited anecdotal evidence, I am, however, beginning to see experienced women stepping back or stepping sideways. This is not always linked directly to starting a family but is often tied to a career break, a reason to reassess, or a life-altering event.

The blanket sexism I have heard horror stories of from older colleagues seems to be largely gone

It seems that sometimes, when given space to reflect, women don’t always prioritise an architectural career as it is most traditionally defined. Most have stayed conceptually close to architecture but have sought out tangential roles client or contractor side, in related consultancies, or with interested charitable bodies. I have seen this less frequently in male friends.

This may just be my limited architectural circles – they are hardly representative – but if reflective of a wider trend, it does cause me to wonder. Is traditional architectural practice still more conducive to traditionally ‘male’ ways of working, or are women just bolder about choosing to make career-altering decisions? My sample size is far too small to be conclusive.

It would be easy to manufacture outrage or point to specific statistics when it comes to inequality in architecture. I think we are now at a more nuanced place. Many younger women in practice have an experience like mine – where, throughout our careers so far at least, there has been no obvious signs of inequality and we are just as likely as our male peers to succeed.

The blanket sexism I have heard horror stories of from older colleagues seems to be largely gone. I do not have to make myself less ‘female’ in order to succeed. Some women of my age have not had this experience, and this is the crucial point.

The profession, and the wider construction industry, has become more equal – but inequalities still exist. We cannot rest on our laurels and applaud a job well done. We must watch against the return of past inequalities and invest in opportunities to champion diversity in all forms – gender, race, thought, and educational background.

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