Architect graduates earning inequality: survey shows men paid more

25 January 2012

Males graduating in the field of Architecture & Building in Australia earn much more than women, a 2011 survey shows.

Men in the field on average earned $50,000 in their first year, while women made $43,000 – a 14 per cent difference.

The figures came from the annual Australian Graduate Survey (AGS), a study of the activities of new higher education graduates around four months after the completion of their qualifications.

According to the latest GradStats report by Graduate Careers Australia, there were 14 areas where male starting salaries were greater than females.

The fields of Architecture & Building and Earth Sciences had the largest differences, with male starting salaries being 14 per cent larger than female starting salaries on average.

Overall, in 2011 males started full time work on a median salary of $52 000 (up from $50 000 in 2010) while females in full time employment earned $50 000 (up from $48 000 in 2010).

Source: Graduate Careers Australia (2011) GradStats

Tags: education and training

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Add Comment8 Comments

archi3 | 25 January, 2012 at 04:07 PM
It only gets worse as you become more experienced. Women are well and truely exploited in this so called profession. Lower pay, shitty tasks, cut out of meetings, denied proper experience and opportunity. This would explain why the attrition rate by women from the architecture profession post graduation is so high and why the representation of women in the architecture industry is still apalling in comparison to other countries.
christina | 25 January, 2012 at 05:42 PM
i talked rugby, cricket, go the site, talk to builder etc etc and i'm a female graduate. In what way does that justify that i deserved to earn lower than male graduate? Not forgetting we claimed to be "professional" but shallow in equality?
Rom Sikora, Architect | 29 January, 2012 at 08:58 PM
Graduated from Melb Uni 1967. Largest firm in Melb paid me more than a female who graduated with me. Nothing's f...g changed!
Maxine Canning | 30 January, 2012 at 02:22 PM
I'm an architect running my own practice, so my wages are in my own hands! However I'm also a Councillor at the WA A.I.A and I have requested that the issues raised in this article receive serious follow-up at our first meeting for 2012, and that it MUST be resolved.
Dean | 3 February, 2012 at 01:50 AM
I don't know anyone who I graduated with that started on anywhere near $50k in 2010. 2 years on people are fighting for $55k to justify the 20 hours + of unpaid overtime. This profession is a farce.
Marie | 3 February, 2012 at 12:07 PM
I worked 9 years full time, with unpaid overtime, before I was earning $55,000 p.a. As you get more experience you are taken for granted and heaven forbid you should decide to have a child and need to work part time ... That's when you're treated like you have no value anymore.
David | 6 February, 2012 at 04:53 PM
Look further afield than traditional architecture. You are some of the best educated and most innovative building professionals. Don't let the poor business model that is professional architectural practice limit you. There are many, better opportunities in the wider building/construction/property industry where you get better paid, more challenges and more recognition.
byron lee | 8 February, 2012 at 02:56 PM
If architects stopped wasting their budget by being indecisive about a projects layout etc, then maybe the firm could afford to pay its professionals.