by: Camila Schaulson Frenz
At this point, it shouldn’t be news to anyone that architecture is a male-dominated industry. Unfortunately, research shows that, despite historically high numbers of women entering the profession, top positions are still mainly held by men. A growing number of organizations and individuals, however, are hard at work trying to right this wrong. Many of these efforts are also right on time for March, Women’s History Month.
Women’s History Month starts early at the Center for Architecture with “Equity in Architecture: The Missing 32%” on 02.27.15, featuring the founder of AIASF’s The Missing 32% Project, Rosa T. Sheng, AIA. Fueled by the persistent gender inequity in the architecture profession, Sheng’s committee was developed as a call-to-action for both women and men to help realize the goal of an equitable practice. Inspired by Sheng, AIA|LA has organized their own all-day symposium, “POWERFUL,” also on 02.27.15, which will feature more than 40 speakers discussing issues of diversity, inclusion, and equality. The event sold out within the first three weeks, and, due to the tremendous demand for tickets, AIA|LA has decided to livestream the event to allow everyone, regardless of location, to attend the conference virtually.
On 03.02.15, the celebration of women continues at the Center for Architecture with “BxW NYC,” an exhibition organized in collaboration with the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation and the AIANY Women in Architecture Committee. The exhibition will showcase 98 award-winning projects built, engineered, or constructed by women, reflecting how women have made their mark on our city’s built environment.
Later that week, on 03.08.15, International Women’s Day, ArchiteXX, an independent, unaffiliated organization for women in architecture, has organized a Wikipedia edit-athon, “women.wikipedia.design,” to help write women designers, architects, and creators of the built environment into Wikipedia. The event has gone global, with wikiparties as far as Australia.
We hope you will join us in supporting women in the profession!