By: Maria Rojas
Architecture is no stranger to sexism and wage gaps between genders. In an industry as old as Architecture, many outdated prejudices are still existent. Old fashion ideas like, women can only be secretaries or interior designers, persist. There is an idea that women have to focus on families and dependents. In 2017, 70% of women surveyed for Architectural-Review Magazine from all over the globe women reported bullying and/or sexual harassment at the workplace. Unfortunately, many things have plagued women in the industry from a deserving wage. Even when the job and employee experience are the same, women are the ones getting paid less.
The chart above shows the wage gaps between genders by job roles. The jobs that show little progress are entry level. At this stage, women are pursuing architecture at a higher level than males. However, women are also the higher of the genders to leave the industry post- entry-level jobs.
Another example of wage gaps can be seen through the management of the firm size in the industry. Meaning, a female Principal working at a large firm is paid less than a male at the same level and firm size.
As described by AIA EQxD Metrics: From “Equal Pay for Equal Work” to Pay Equity, They lay out two frames works to help understand the wage gap. The first step is to understand what you are comparing. Controlled for differences in a work setting, job function and responsibility, experience level and training. The comparison shows that the wage gap can be explained by the differences in men’s and women’s work setting, schedules, roles, and responsibilities. They state that “many of the factors that were associated with the highest salaries overall were also associated with the higher than average gender pay gaps” (Pitts, AIA).
These studies do not take into account the basis of race and culture between the pay gap where there are significant differences. People of Color earn less than other respondents at nearly every point in their careers.
References:
Paying Dues: Equity in Architecture Survey 2016,(2017) Annelise Pitts, Equilty by Design, http://eqxdesign.com/blog/2017/7/2/eqxd-metrics-from-equal-pay-for-equal-work-to-pay-equity
Architectural Diversity Improves, But Attrition Among Non-White Candidates Remains High, (2018)NCARB by the Numbers, NCARB, https://www.ncarb.org/press/architectural-diversity-improves-attrition-among-non-white-candidates-remains-high
How architecture cheats women: results of the 2017 Women in Architecture survey revealed, (2017) Bruce Tether, The Architectural Review, https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/how-architecture-cheats-women-results-of-the-2017-women-in-architecture-survey-revealed/10017497.article
