The Other Half of Design: Influential Women

Estimated reading time: 3 min

Gender inequality in architecture is an issue that has long been discussed within the industry but the debate has not always led to action. Recent surveys by RIBA, AIA, and Women in Architecture have highlighted issues that have then been quickly forgotten. As we will discuss, female architects have come a long way, particularly over the last few decades but there are still great strides to be made. The number of female architecture students is on the rise yet this is not is translated to those actually entering the profession. Over the coming months, ‘The Other Half of Design’ will explore the key issues involving women in architecture, through surveys, interviews and analysis, and look to get to the core of the issue as to why female architects remain under-represented.

At RMJM we have long maintained that our female architects are as crucial to our success as anyone else. Theirs are stories of passion, sacrifice, teamwork and creativity. These are the stories we will tell over this series. But we also want to shine a light on others in the industry too. Zaha Hadid’s passing has brought female architecture into mainstream focus and it’s important that the opportunity this presents isn’t lost. Hadid’s remarkable body of work has inspired countless architects over the years and she is one of several pioneers within the industry. The work of Kazuyo Sejima, Denise Scott Brown, Rosaria Piomelli and many others proves that gender is no boundary to greatness. How we best nurture these talents in a system that seems to do them a disservice is at the heart of ‘The Other Half of Design’.

A fascinating series of interviews with a range of female RMJM architects will be published over the course of this series as we seek to contribute to this important debate. The very nature of education and workplace politics will also be examined in the hope of sparking further debate and, hopefully, change. To start, however, we will look at some of the remarkable achievements made by women in the history of architecture.