Female Architects
July 2012
Where are all the female architects?
This is a very interesting question. It is one that is being explored by Parlour; which is the outcome of the Australian Research Council-funded research project ‘Equity and Diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession: Women, Work, and Leadership’. The statistics show that only 20% of registered architects are woman; despite 45% of graduates being woman. This statistic leaves one rather bewildered.
I attended the Parlour soiree in Melbourne on the 2 of July; where the practising architect and national president of the Australian Institute of Architects Shelley Penn was guest speaker. She shared her thoughts on women in architecture. It is a topic that I haven’t given much thought; hence my bewilderment at the above statistic. I will be interested to read the statistics and analysis of their first survey titled ‘Where do all the woman go?’ that was launched at the event.
Parlour states on their website our “survey aims to give a more nuanced picture of the women of Australian architecture. We take an expanded view of what constitutes architectural engagement and activity. We are also interested to know about women abroad with backgrounds in Australian architecture, and about those who have ‘left’ architecture”.
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