Australia's female architects have a plan for building gender diversity

Australian Institute of Architects CEO Jennifer Cunich says change must come from the top.
Australian Institute of Architects CEO Jennifer Cunich says change must come from the top. Wayne Taylor

If the male champions of change in the property industry are serious about busting up the industry's "boys' club" mentality they should follow the lead of women in Australian architecture.

The architectural profession, represented by the Australian Institute of Architects, began its efforts to promote gender equity and equal pay with three years of research funded by the Australian Research Council and industry partners.

The research was conducted between April 2011 and May 2014 by the University of Queensland and Melbourne University.

The report found that women were under-represented in the architecture profession in Australia, particularly at senior levels.

The proportion of female graduates is close to parity, but women are not advancing in sufficient numbers.

Women architects tend to follow 'atypical' career paths whereby trained women tend to leave, step sideways, or not return from a break.

The researchers found evidence of gender-based pay inequity and there was evidence that architects working part time were sidelined.

Men in architecture were found to experience the same problems of low pay, long hours, and difficulty in reconciling professional and family life but women were impacted in different, specific, and compounded ways.

The raw statistics will not surprise those who have worked in other male dominated professions.

Since 1990 women have represented 40 to 44 per cent of graduates.

The number of registered female architects falls away dramatically from the age 30.

About one fifth of registered architects are female, compared with about half of solicitors and 36 per cent of medical practitioners.

The Institute of Architects argues that one of the benefits of retaining women in the profession is that it would lead to the design of more humane physical environments.

Women are not making it to the top of the pile in sufficient numbers. Only 22 per cent of women are owner/managers compared with 41 per cent of male architects.

This explains why women dominant the lower levels of remuneration (up to $1,500 per week) whilst men significantly dominate remuneration above this level.

One of the legacies of the research is a website called Parlour, which can be found at archiparlour.org.

It brings together research, opinion and resources covering women, equity and architecture in Australia. The Parlour is a powerful resource for women seeking advice on all aspects of advancement in the workplace.

It provides tips and tactics for women working part time. It is a venue for learning about leadership, pay equity, fast tracking career paths and finding mentors.

The other legacy that should be examined by other industry professions is the quota system for the board of directors.

This has been mandated by the Australian Institute of Architects through changes to its constitution. It followed the adoption of a gender equity policy and the creation of a national committee for gender equity. 

From the day after the Institute's 2017 annual general meeting, there must be a minimum of three females and three males on the board of directors which can have between six and eight members.

Australian Institute of Architects chief executive Jennifer Cunich says change must come from the top, and this constitutional change will ensure that women have a seat at the top table.

AFR Magazine