When structural racism and gendered prejudice exist, people in power tend to make excuses. Some point to the history of architectural chartership and indicate that women and gender diverse people have not had the same number of decades to build their careers. This is a flawed statement. The RIBA Gold Medal is granted to someone considered to have made a significant contribution “either directly or indirectly” to architecture. In this way, the award has been granted to male engineers, including Ove Arup (1966) and Peter Rice (1992). It was granted to writers and scholars in the field—Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1967) and Sir John Summerson (1976)—to archaeologists and painters and, in 1999, even to the whole city of Barcelona (!). Whilst many women have produced extraordinary work in these same fields—they have been commissioners, curators, campaigners and activists—the multidisciplinary nature of the Gold Medal award has to date only been applied to award men.
When structural racism and gendered prejudice exist, people in power tend to make excuses.
Another justification that I have heard—which I wrote about in Architecture Today1— is that recognition should be based solely on merit. There are paradoxes interwoven in this argument. Across all sectors of work, research shows that women’s career progression is hampered by multiple barriers: the widely recorded gender pay gap, a pattern of women being overlooked for promotions and having to contend with poor parental leave and insufficient maternity pay. That many women have to deal with all of the above indicates a level of skill, commitment and perseverance that makes many women worthy of, at the very least, equal professional recognition. Few custodians of power and influence in the sector recognise this paradox.
Across all sectors of work, research shows that women’s career progression is hampered by multiple barriers.
Wishing to subvert the trend and raise awareness of the problem, we developed a simple, accessible action. On Valentines Day 2019, all of the founding members of Part W, took to social media. We all photographed ourselves holding a piece of paper on which we had written the name of a woman worthy of award, and the year when she should have been granted the RIBA Gold Medal. Our initiative quickly gained pace online.2 Hundreds of people contributed—individuals, practitioners and students too.
We all photographed ourselves holding a piece of paper on which we had written the name of a woman worthy of award, and the year when she should have been granted the RIBA Gold Medal.
The Alternative List, an initiative by Part W Collective.
This was the birth of The Alternative List: a compendium that reveals widely known as well as lesser celebrated female figures in the design world.
Setting the ground for all our future campaigns, the Alternative List included global figures—such as Jeanne Gang, Odile Decq, Amanda Levete, Yasmin Lari, Kazuyo Sejima, Jane Jacobs, Minnette de Silva and Charlotte Perriand—alongside lesser celebrated professionals—such as Mary Medd, Nora Geddes, Mary Lovelace, Elizabeth Carter Brooks and many others.3
One other example of gendered inequality and misrepresentation can be found when thinking and discussing maps.
One other example of gendered inequality and misrepresentation can be found when thinking and discussing maps. Design-focused printed maps, the so-called “walkers guide” of cities, have a gendered lens. Digital compendiums are often no better. Take for example the London Architecture Guide established by the Architecture Foundation, which features remarkable buildings from Roman times to the present day. The app includes contemporary projects by male-lead practices—Richard Rogers Partnership / Rogers Stir Harbour and Partners, Foster and Partners, Terry Farrell and Partners and more recent works by Caruso St. John, Stephen Taylor and Niall McLaughlin. Yet, many female-lead practices are not included, with no projects featured by the likes of Sarah Wigglesworth MBE, Walters & Cohen, Elsie Owusu OBE, whilst Muf Arts and Architecture—who have a thriving series of projects in London - have none of their projects in their own right listed. This data clearly points to how women’s design work is sidelined.
There is still a long way to go before the design sector becomes welcoming to women.
In order to counter these disparities, we developed our Women’s Work: London map (previously discussed in the second instalment of this column). The map is by no means definitive. We hope it will act as a catalyst for publishers, curators and design professionals to give deep consideration to who is–and is not—promoted in the sector.
The Alternative List and Women’s Work: London Map remain today as educational resources and stark reminders that there is still a long way to go before the design sector becomes welcoming to women. The hope is never to sideline the work of those who identify as male, but for there to be an equal and fair approach to promotion and celebration of creative production.
This is just the start. We seek for Part W to bring positive, constructive and collective endeavour to engendering great recognition and valuing of women's work.
Make sure to get your hands on the first ever Women’s Work: London Map, which can be purchased here. And remember: throughout March—Women’s History Month—raise a glass and honour women of past and present.
Read the whole "Part W at Work" column by part W Collective.
Bio
Part W is an action group that campaigns to raise the profile of women in the built environment by celebrating and drawing attention to women’s projects and skills. It seeks to bring about change in how women’s work in placemaking, design and architecture is valued and recognised—and challenges policies that cause gender discrimination in built environments. The organisation is run by a core steering group of ten women who work across the sectors of architectural design, sustainable transport, planning, design education and journalism.
Notes
1 Unpacking the Library - Architecture Today, 20 July 2020 [online]
2 Women’s action group launches protest at men-only RIBA Royal Gold Medal. By Richard Waite, published by The Architects Journal 14 February 2019 [online]
3 Five “undervalued” women architects Part W is creating Wikipedia pages for. By Tom Ravenscroft. Published by Dezeen, 8 March 2021 [online]
