I graduated in 2008, and like many of my peers looking for work in the midst of a global recession, I moved to London. I was relatively fortunate to find a job and there wasn’t much thought about what type of work I wanted to do and what type of practice I wanted to work for. I worked for a large practice of around 80 people. It was new, daunting and at times pretty intense.
There were quite a number of women who worked there and I was lucky to work with some really talented women, some of whom now lead at other architectural practices and organisations. But looking back at my time there, there was only one female Director (of around 8 or so if my memory serves me correctly) and she was the Finance Manager. I didn’t question the make up of the practice during my time there – it just didn’t cross my mind.
My wife graduated at the same time and eventually found work at another similar sized commercial practice. It was male dominated and in stark contrast to her Part 1 job which she said had women at every level. She enjoyed her Part 1 and could see a clear job progression. Women were represented in senior roles and as a graduate, she could see herself in the future being in a senior position as it was clear that it was evidently achievable.
But her overriding memory of her time with a different architectural practice as a newly qualified Part 2 was of a male dominated working culture that was one of long hours and a macho workplace culture. As a graduate, she didn’t see herself as an Architect in an environment that didn’t value women and where women were not represented and for that reason she left and pursued other avenues.
In her interview with the RIBA, visibility is one aspect that Sumita Singha addresses in her book ‘Thrive: A Field Guide for Women in Architecture’. “If you are a female student and you see more women in senior positions, it’s going to show that it’s worth sticking around and going through all the hardship because they can see that there is an end product, and there is a progression.”
I’m fortunate to work in a practice that is close to male:female parity. We value a working culture that is not long hours and has a strong female voice. My most recent project saw me working with an incredible team of women, and this strong presence was evident at Design Team Meetings where more often the not, the wider consultant team is male dominated. We need female representation at all levels of practice, and whilst things have improved, this is by no means industry wide.
Team
International Women’s Day: How much has the construction industry changed?
Posted on 10 March 2025
Part three by Associate Richard Brindle
But what other reasons might there be for women leaving the profession? By the time we have entered practice following 6 years of university education, most of our (non-architect) friends are already progressing in their careers. Sumita highlights that there remains a clear drop in the number of women pursuing Part 3 qualification, in part due to the debt their architectural education has already accrued. Women are more often likely to take career breaks and this added financial burden sees women choose to leave the profession, rather than continue. Sumita argues the case for the apprenticeship model and this is something we as a practice can see as a valuable alternative that allows students to continue work whilst studying for qualification. It’s a small step, and we’ve seen it work successfully. Our recent alumni Anastasija has qualified via this model and our colleague Eleanor is following in her footsteps having enrolled in an apprenticeship scheme with the University of Cambridge. Anastasija and our Directors contributed to the RIBA’s ‘Architecture Apprenticeship Handbook’ noting what we’ve learnt and how it can work.
One overriding positive of the pandemic was the realisation that flexible working is a possibility. Whilst there is an emerging desire to move ‘back to the office’, we shouldn’t return to pre-pandemic norms. Flexible working helps to provide a more equitable share in parental duties. For those on longer commutes, being able to work at home and do the drop-off and pick up can help those with caring responsibilities, and ultimately, not leave the parental load entirely at the door of women.
I can’t speak for women, and clearly more needs to be done to see a more equitable and fairer profession, but men can play their part. Men at senior levels need to recognise that change can only come through action, and that relatively small steps can contribute to improving parity within the industry. Maintaining flexible working policies, offering apprenticeships, and female representation at senior levels can help force change – these moves will help. Things have improved since I started within the profession, but more can be done and us men can play a part.