Women in Architecture - Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

PREAMBLE
In the five years that have passed since this project was first
envisioned, there has been considerable investigation and written
material on the status of women in professions. For example -
Engineering News Record asked if the 'glass ceiling' is still there
(Oct.6, 2003); June 2003 RIBA commissioned research to ask
why women are leaving architecture (web site:
www.architecture.com/go/RIBA/News/Press_2299.html); and the
New York Times wrote that women professionals are choosing a
less stressful life (Oct.24, 2003). In Canada Annmarie Adams and
Peta Tancred's book 'Designing Women', Gender and the
Architectural Profession (University of Toronto Press, 2000) was
published; Globe and Mail's article "Female architects seen
running for exits" (May 6, 2002) raised many questions. Clearly,
there is more general awareness that women are a valuable asset
to a profession like architecture and that an organization must be
pro-active to recruit and maintain women in its folds.
This report is the outcome of workshops held in numerous
Canadian cities, usually in conjunction with RAIC architectural
conferences. In addition, under the umbrella of the Architectural
Institute of British Columbia, there were workshops held in
various locations in B.C. on the topic of 'Human Equity'. Each of
these workshops was facilitated by one of the authors of this
report.
A missing component to this report is the input from the
provinces of Quebec and Alberta. It is our intention to hold a
workshop in Quebec City in June 2004 and subsequently to add
information to this report as an addendum. A similar opportunity
may exist in Alberta in the spring of 2004.
RAIC Consultations and Roundtables
on Women in Architecture in Canada
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