Increasing the Pipeline for a More Inclusive Design Profession

Save this picture!

If you attended architecture or design school, there’s probably something you noticed about your fellow classmates- a majority of them were female. And if you have been working in the world of design for a few years, there’s probably something else you’ve noticed as well- that there are fewer women in leadership positions than men. There’s a crisis that architecture has been facing ever since the profession has existed, and it’s that women in leave architecture in high numbers. But what is causing this, and what steps are being taken to ensure that some of design’s best champions positioned to become future industry leaders?

Analyzing the problem lies in looking at the career pipeline for women in architecture. At a surface level, the problem seems to have an obvious solution. If you want more women to be architects then recruit more women to enroll in architecture school. However, recent NCARB reports have found that nearly half of architecture school students are females, meaning that the real issue is somewhere between graduation and earning a senior position in the design profession. To narrow that gap even further, data from NCARB shows that nearly 2 in 5 women (similar to the number of architecture school enrollees) are licensed. On top of that, women complete licensure requirements more than one year faster than men. This means that they complete both the AXP hours and pass ARE examinations, earning their licenses, and positioning themselves for better workplace opportunities and promotions. But this data doesn’t reflect the reality that women face.