4 hours ago
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Two decades after a seminal report on sexism in architecture, women are still abandoning the profession because of “toxic workplace cultures”, sexual harassment, long hours and unequal pay, according to a report from the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba).
Female architects still faced intractable barriers, including “long hours being glorified, an imbalance of power between employers and employees, lack of clear policies and proactive action, and stark displays of sexism within practices”, according to the Riba Build It Together report, produced with the equality charity the Fawcett Society.
Riba’s first female chief executive officer, Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick, said these issues were particularly felt by women from minority ethnic backgrounds who also faced discrimination and misogyny. The report would be “uncomfortable reading for many”, she added.
Citing the Riba’s 2003 Why do women leave architecture? report – which found low and unequal pay, long working hours, sidelining of opportunities, sexism, and a “macho” culture were leading to a female exodus – she said some people within the profession would find it “unsurprising that this is still happening”.
A survey targeted at women working in architecture found that:
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Half of all female respondents had experienced bullying at work
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A third had been sexually harassed
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A majority felt their architecture career progression had been stymied by having children
The survey of 635 people working in the industry revealed that many women still found having children and working in architecture to be a difficult balance with 83% saying having children had harmed their careers, and 42% saying it had had a significant impact. This was significantly worse than the national picture, said the Riba, pointing to a 2020 YouGov study which found that 38% of mothers felt having children had harmed their careers.
One respondent to the Riba report said: “Becoming pregnant and a mum has completely and utterly destroyed any career progression for me. I run my own business now, but I’m struggling so much to get the work done and earn enough money, I’m seriously thinking I can’t go on much longer.” Many women in the industry said pay structures in their practices remained opaque and unfair. In 2024, the Riba’s Business Benchmarking reported a gender pay gap of about 16% across chartered practices compared with the wider gender pay gap of 11.3%.
Women working in architecture also described “toxic cultures, where many had endured experiences that left them feeling humiliated, objectified, undermined, ashamed, and in, some cases, traumatised”, said the report. This included groping, aggressive restraining, pushing and grabbing, stalking and sexually explicit comments. While 35% had been harassed, 38% did not report sexual harassment or bullying because they feared negative consequences – only 11% who reported what had happened to them were happy with the outcome. “How do you report your male boss in a company led by male partners? You don’t,” said one respondent.
Thanking the women who had spoken to the report’s authors, Vaughan-Dick said their voices must be heard. It was time to take a “long, hard look at the experiences of women” and use their stories as “a driving force to be part of the change the sector desperately needs”, she said.
