What's the deal?
50%
In the U.S. alone, women make up nearly half of the student body in architecture schools.
18%
Those numbers drop off dramatically in the professional field, where women make up only 18 percent of licensed architects.
3%
Worldwide, only three of the top 100 firms are headed by women.
Why?
There is no single, or simple, explanation for this. Nor is there an easy fix. The challenge, said Ila Berman, dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture (and one of just a few female deans in the field), is to “change a culture that will only be changed through representation, when 50 percent of the people in the room are women.”
BEST OF THE BEST
For a century and a half, women have be proving their passion and talent for design and architecture in the male dominated field. It is a paradox that even in the 21st century, architecture can still be a challenging career path for women, and gender inequality continues to be a cause of concern. However, Below I showcase the best of the best in architecture, who happen to be women. Click each photo to learn more about these powerful.
click each photo to learn more
Frida Escobedo
Mexico City, Mexico
Kazuyo Sejima
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Elizabeth Diller
New York City, New York
Zaha Hadid
Baghdad, Iraq
Tatiana Bilbao
Mexico City, Mexico
Emily Farnham
Los Angeles, California
Would they still call me a diva if I was a man? -Zaha Hadid