AIA Women's Leadership Summit 2019

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit in Minneapolis. It was the third time I had gone to this bi-annual event and, though I always find elements I enjoy & value, the prospect of going solo to a conference always fills me with a bit of trepidation. As an introvert I get nervous about the crowds, the new faces, the small talk but this year I committed to leaning into the uncomfortable to see what the other side held. Here are my five top take aways from this year’s WLS event, not only do I enjoy relaying some great content I also appreciate looking back at this to maintain the forward momentum this event always promises.

1. “Every project has the inherent ability and capacity to be great and not be hindered by lack of money or lack of client vision.” Architect Julie Snow (one of my personal favorite designers!) shared this mantra as the one she used to lay the foundation to her iconic practice. Building on this, she reminded us that our role as architects are to pose interesting questions to our clients, to challenge them and offer a breadth of exploration from our experience. Architects create clarity and being able to be clear about a project’s intent with deep conviction is a learned skill that is honed through the mess of innovation.

2. Accept that there’s no playbook, Figure out the next thing…. not the final thing. Deliberate shifts or transformations are done by taking action. Trust that you are not lost and this is not a mistake.

3. Negotiation is important but pre-empt by making a 90 day plan and a target - show investment into the firm by taking on as much as you can - “do the job you have and the one you want.”

4. Effect change by placing these elements in motion:

   1. Be curious

   2. Celebrate creativity

   3. Chat, create conversation

   4. Coalition building & cooperation

   5. Convene people

   6. Keep your word, the choices you make are critical, be honest

   7. Use common sense

   8. Believe in chance, give it space

   9. Have courage

   10. Have a cause bigger than yourself

5. Reframe self promotion. We should broadcast the value and importance of design & the built environment on many different mediums and channels. Design has the power to change lives and help clients change their world - it is transformative. Our shared collective purpose is to shape our built environment for a better future.

Roadblocks & creativity

The 2016 Equity in Architecture survey revealed the issue of a leaky pipeline in the profession of architecture. Namely that although men and women were graduating from architecture school at the same rate, the number of women who are AIA members, licensed architects or firm leaders is at approximately 18% of the total. This leaves 32% of women missing from the profession and perhaps victims of a leaky professional pipeline. Although this narrative is a bit limited as it doesn’t take into account the many people, both men & women, who have taken skills derived from an architecture degree and advanced in other professions; this is a baseline metric (based on survey findings) and it confirms that both male and female professionals -- are nine times as likely to work in a firm that is mostly, or entirely, led by men as they are to work in a majority or completely female-led office. The EQxD survey summary goes on to note… “while “glass ceiling” was originally coined to describe the challenges that women face, these barriers within the architectural profession hinder people of color as well as women as they strive to attain top leadership positions within the profession. Both of these groups are less likely than white men to be principals or partners in firms at nearly every level of experience. Even though today’s cohort of emerging professionals includes a significant increase in women and an uptick in people of color (although we still have a long way to go before we reach equal representation), the highest rungs of the profession remain pervasively white, and male.”  

The leaky pipeline is a complex system with infinite solutions. There isn’t one silver bullet answer and, unfortunately, many other STEM related careers have similar challenges. Designers Build is one effort in many towards fortifying the pipeline at a local level. From examples of early outreach programs, like AFO’s Architects in Schools program to the Your Street, Your Voice program for high schoolers to professional development courses that build necessary negotiation, presentation, networking, marketing, and business development skills. All of these incremental efforts towards building career confidence, either architectural focused or not, work together in creating a strong foundation that is imperative in retaining talent. The survey findings that detailed the leaky pipeline issue also provided insight into consistent milestones, or pinch points, that either hinder career progression or influence employee retention. These points, marking a career’s progression from graduation through retirement, are seen as pivotal events closely linked to women leaving the profession. Every career path is different and the pinch points effect us all, in different ways and in different chapters of our careers. Yet if each of us zeroed in and applied our skills and creativity towards improving the situation in any single area of the pipeline, we can effect change.

In 2014 an interviewer asked Rosa Sheng, EQxD founder & current AIASF president, where do women end up if they do stay in the profession for 20, 30 years, if they don't have these title roles [in regards to leadership]?  She answered with, “well, they do make it to the title role of project manager. Women are good at prioritizing and balancing, so the role seems to be a natural fit. But the last hurdle is the design [leadership] role. Ultimately it takes time. Design isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of thinking, living, breathing, and eating the project. So if you have an idea, but you have other obligations, and other people have more time to think about design, [your idea] doesn’t always come off as powerful when you’re saying it because somebody else has already detailed or sketched it out.”

Designers build is not only skill building, it’s an effort in reducing roadblocks and offering opportunities benefitting creativity. The intent of these classes & workshops is to foster a female community of designers willing to take creative risks and collaborate to tackle new challenges. Your creativity & curiosity has led you to become designers and architects, Designers Build is dedicated to progressing your practice by connecting your problem-solving skills with real world building projects aligned with community purpose.

Photo courtesy of SocietyNine, a rad company designing modern boxing gear for the empowered woman with an equally powerful brand manifesto….