A cross-national study of gender diversity initiatives in architecture

Abstract

Purpose -Despite initiatives designed to encourage more women, the construction industry and its associated professions remain resolutely male-dominated and the situation shows little signs of changing. Reporting on the findings of an exploratory study which examines the transfer of Equality Policy into practice in three European countries: the UK, France and Spain, we provide cross-national comparisons of the implementation of gender initiatives in a single profession, that of architecture.Methodology -66 semi-structured interviews were carried out in the qualitative paradigm with women architects in the UK, France and Spain.Findings -Findings are two-fold: firstly, our research indicates that there are many weaknesses in the support offered and in the design of the initiatives which serve to discourage women rather than encourage them and secondly, there is a clear need for the dominant body within the industry -the men -to provide the impetus for change Originality -Our research is unique in that it offers a cross-national comparison of the situation within a single profession in a male-dominated industry which has attracted much attention for its lack of diversity and its reluctance to embrace change

Seeking elsewhere: a systematic review of literature surrounding attrition and retention of female architects in the profession post-registration

“…These policies are found to be directed toward larger and more “visible” contributors (Caven et al, 2016). For example, in the case of Spain where legislation from 2007 requires 40% of board positions to be women, a lack of enforcement has resulted in women holding less than 10% of these positions in 2016 (Caven et al , 2016). Several such policies and gender initiatives also exist across countries such as the United Kingdom and France with the purpose of taking a regulatory approach to gender inequity, but with low levels of quantifiable success (Caven et al , 2016).…”

“…Notably, the selected literature also included several collaborative cross-national studies between Australia, Argentina, France, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the USA, accounting for 16% of results (Caven and Diop, 2012; Caven and Astor, 2013; Roan and Stead, 2012; Caven et al , 2016; Pickerill, 2015). The remaining journal articles were distributed between Belgium, Scotland, Spain and Sweden, each sharing an equal 3%.…”

Doing gender in the ‘new office’

“…For example, in our study all the 'organization designers'for instance, the architects, facilities managers and senior managerswere men. While this gender representation is typical of the architecture profession (Caven et al, 2016) 3 and the UK public sector, further studies could usefully consider workspaces where women feature significantly in the design teams. Such studies might elicit very different observations and thus, different theoretical interpretations.…”

‘Black Boxes’ and ‘fracture points’: the regulation of gender equality in the UK and French construction industries

“…While there are longstanding support groups such as Women and Manual Trades, Women in Property, and the National Association of Women in Construction, initiatives such as the Building Design 50:50 campaign, are created and disbanded (Matthewson, 2013) or have gimmicky titles, such as Chicks With Bricks (Caven et al, 2016). Neither feature suggests they represent a high-priority concern.…”

“…Thus we have the position at the national level, where EU policy efforts can be implemented in a purely legal sense, with little evidence of their effective implementation in terms of delivering the desired policy outcomes (Caven, Navarro Astor, & Diop, 2016).…”