Happy International Women’s Day to not only women but everyone who is pushing for change and challenging the work environment and society they live in.
Today is a day to celebrate women and their achievements but also recognise we still have a long way to go in addressing inequality.
Therefore, don’t forget that although this day celebrates women’s achievements and the continued pursuit for equality, we should not just discuss this today but everyday of the year. So don’t just share a post, meme or words (that is the easy part!) make sure you push for change and support those women around you, everyday of the year!
To help celebrate some of the women in architecture and continue raising awareness on how everyone can get involved in combating inequality I’ve shared some anecdotes, links and further publications I’ve come across in recent months :
‘How will you help forge a gender equal world? Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.’internationalwomensday.com
RIBA Lectures | Pioneers : Then and Now
The RIBA have set up a series of events today to celebrate International Women’s Day. One in particular is the release of archival recordings from 1986 where four women, Jane Drew, Pat Tindale, Elaine Denby and Rosemary Stjernstedt, took the stage to reflect on their careers.
I have a particular connection to Jane Drew as I wrote about her career during my degree and greatly respect the challenges she had to overcome in her career.
One quote which sticks with me from the recording, is how she recognises that you have to take in a lot of beauty before you can give it out. For me, this was her recognising that we all need a balance between working and pleasure; taking the time to absorb the world we live in and enjoying it. If we took the time to expose ourselves to the beauty that surrounds us, we too will give it back.
Passive House Podcast | Episode 28 : Talina Edwards
After achieving my certified passive house designer qualification at the end of last year, I have been getting involved in all things PH! I have been listening to the Passive House Podcast on Spotify and recently listened to episode 28 where Talina Edwards joins host Matthew Culter Welsh and discusses her journey as an architect and Passive House pioneer.
What was inspiring for me was that Talina used her maternity leave to develop and research sustainability further as well as doing talks to the local community on sustainable buildings which then led her to a project and the start of her own company.
The Good Guys : How Men Can Be Allies for Women in the Workplace : David Smith & W. Brad Johnson
A book which is next on my list is ‘The Good Guys’ but I got to listen to a talk given by David & Brad organised by the Harvard Business Review in December 2020.
Their first book, ‘Athena Rising’ was released at a similar time as the ‘MeToo’ movement which got them involved with lots of conversations by looking at how we can create better diversity, equality and inclusion when it came to our professions and the workplace, which also exposed how there is not a level playing field for opportunities and progression for women. It led onto more conversations on how men could show up in the workplace more broadly as allies.
Both David and Brad recognised that women have challenges in the workplace as their initial research was greatly driven by the struggles close female relatives experienced and their stark difference their careers took in comparison to their male counterparts.
I really enjoyed the talk so no doubt the book will delve in deeper to their research on the disadvantage women face at home as they often face an unequal division of household chores and childcare and also in the workplace as they deal with lower pay and glass ceilings when it comes to promotions.
Invisible Women | Caroline Criado Perez
Well, just a little bit about Caroline, she is a writer, broadcaster and award-winning feminist campaginer. Her most notable campaigns have included co-founding ‘The Women’s Room’, getting a woman on a Bank of England banknotes, forcing Twitter to revise its procedures for dealing with abuse and successfully campaigning for a statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett to be erected in Parliament Square.
I have been reading this book for a while and it covers all areas of life where women are overlooked and how policies and society are negatively impacting women by holding them back for achieving the same as their male counterparts.
I will be writing a brief review on the book but would highly recommend reading it, as it has opened my eyes to how gender bias the world we live, from the policies written, the amount of time women spend everyday doing non-paid work (house chores, childcare etc.) and even down to research that women are 47% more likely to experience severe injuries from a car crash because safety features are designed for men.
This book gets you to reflect on how even the smallest thing could possibly be needed to make a change.
In summary and as a way we can all make a change, I have shared the RIBA’s list of simple actions employers and colleagues can all commit to:
- Call out bias: speak up in the moment
- Listen to women: create opportunities for your team to flourish
- Attend an event: understand women’s lived experiences, address barriers, post about it to share knowledge
- Attend training: learn, develop, share or get involved in helping to shape inclusion events
- Become a mentor or mentee: take some time to share and support someone else professionally, or to find someone who can coach and push you
- Support colleagues experiencing big life changes: understand the barriers women face: for example, becoming a new parent. Support their transition and share good practice with others
So, get yourselves involved today and everyday, commit to challenge gender bias and inequality in the profession no matter how big or small.