Gender wage gaps hit architecture and building graduates

The pay gap between men and women in the fields of architecture and building are large, and it starts as soon as they hit the workforce. While the gap has been getting bigger, some are finding a glimmer of hope for pay equality.

By Charlotte Cameron

Alarming new data has revealed that recent architecture and building graduates are faced with the worst gender pay discrepancy of any industry in Australia. This gap has widened since 2010.

The GradStats survey,   from Graduate Careers Australia, shows that a starting salary for a male in the industry is on average $52,000 while the female starting salary sits at $43,000.

The gap has increased in recent years. In 2010 the discrepancy sat at only $5,000, with men starting out on a salary of $45,000 and women at an average of $40,000.

In 2011, the wage gap was at 14 per cent, with men earning $50,000 and women starting out on $43,000. In 2012, this gap had increased to 17.3 per cent.

This wage gap not only encompasses architecture, but many fields within the discipline. It includes environmental and industrial design, planning, quantity surveying and landscape architecture.

RMIT architecture student Amber Bell said she unaware of the figures and described the discrepancy as “preposterous”.

“It’s been proven that women are more efficient in organisational jobs and multitasking  than men, so we should probably be paid higher,” she said.

The dramatic increase has not only been seen in the architecture and building industries, but other fields such as dentistry. In 2011 the wage gap sat at 6.3 per cent, and by 2012 had increased to 15.6 per cent.

The Workplace Gender Authority Agency reported that there is an overall pay gap of 17.5 per cent across all industries. According to a survey conducted by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), 93.2 per cent of respondents in the businesses sector believe there are barriers to women’s equality in the workplace.

Monash architecture lecturer Jacqui Alexander described gender inequality within architecture as a major problem.

“In the last two years especially, it’s become widely recognized that women are underrepresented in the industry,” she said.

Within the course at Monash, students are able to undertake a subject called Professional Practice, which discusses some of the key issues facing women in architecture. Ms Alexander describes the class as important in giving students practical evidence and advice on what they may encounter in the industry.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency spokeswoman Clare Buttner detailed possible reasons for the gender discrepancy. “Some of the female-dominated professions are more low paid compared to the male dominated professions,” she said.

However, according to Monash lecturer Jacqui Alexander,  roughly the same number of males and females graduate from architecture, meaning neither sex dominates at graduate level.

However, women make up only 30 per cent of members of the Australian Institute of Architects are female and only about 20 per cent of registered architects.

One of the major issues facing women in architecture is the lack of females in leadership positions, which could affect pay levels. Ms Buttner said women “historically have been very poorly represented on lists of company boards”.

The Architecture website ArchiParlour, which aims to promote an equitable industry, says in an article on leadership that the absence of women in leadership roles “is not related to the lack of candidates, but to other, perhaps subtle and invisible, factors”.

ArchiParlour, in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Architects, has created a list of 18 guidelines which they say companies should consider in order to stop the gender bias.

One of these guidelines suggests unconscious bias plays a role: “In Western architecture and its leadership, the default is male.” This ingrained social norm might affect who is chosen for leadership positions.

In its June 2013, Women in leadership publication, CEDA said breaking down stereotyped gender roles helped to reduce this unconscious bias. One way for companies to do this is by encouraging more fathers to take their entitled parental leave, CEDA said.

In addition to this, ArchiParlour recommends direct action could help stop gender bias. For example, a company should aim to interview at least one female candidate for a position, as well as ensuring that teams are gender balanced.

Ms Buttner said one way to curb the gender bias mentality is “to ensure companies are looking at things carefully within their own organisation. Unless they analyse their payroll data and whether they are recruiting more women to senior positions, they will never really know if there is an inequity,” she said.

Another targeted reason for the gender pay discrepancy is the hours involved with architecture. Ms Alexander says that the “lack of flexibility” combined with “onerous hours” mean that for women with families, the industry is often not accommodating.

MAKE Architecture director Mel Bright describes the hard work and “staying back after hours” culture as an “unsustainable work practice”. “A lot of women can’t fit it in with having a family with kids,” she said.

Many within the industry have argued that women are less confident in asking for raises, or higher positions, and this causes a discrepancy. Architecture firm Atelier Red + Black director Sonia Sarangi said:  “We’re often not very good at putting our hand up for things, where as guys are often more willing to put their hand up and give it a go.”

This is addressed by ArchiParlour as a reason to why more women are not involved in senior positions. The website says that this “lack of confidence often manifests in a reluctance to speak up or seek further challenges and remuneration”. ArchiParlour said managers should make the reasons for a particular promotion better known, to help to alleviate this issue.

Other reasons for pay discrepancy might include differences in pay between practices and the lack of Human Resource expertise in smaller architectural firms.

While these may be reasons for some aspect of the wage gaps within the industry, they do not explain why graduates  experience an almost 17 per cent discrepancy – before family commitments kick in and before aspiring to a leadership position is an issue.

The available data does not make it clear if this gap will continue to widen in coming years. Organisations such as ArchiParlour and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency aim to educate employers and raise awareness to the issue.

By working with leaders to promote accountability practices, CEDA believes that equality of opportunity in the workplace can be achieved. They also recommend companies establish changes to existing systems through “personal responsibility for behaviours and actions”.

The establishment of website ArchiParlour has opened the conversation on gender equality within architecture in Australia, raising awareness and developing ideas on how to create equitable work practices.

Architecture director Sonia Sarangi praises the website ArchiParlour for its work. “It has created so many conversations which nobody has ever wanted to tackle, so they’ve made it a national issue, which is great,” she said.

One of the reasons  experts say why gender wage discrepancy is prevalent is the fact that most like to keep their salaries confidential. Without proper knowledge of what is going on in the industry, many have no idea that there may be inequalities present which is why ArchiParlour is praised for dealing with these types of issues.

Director of MAKE architecture firm Mel Bright believes the future for women in the industry is hopeful. “I think the culture is changing a bit,” she said. “The change is needed, the whole parlour conversation has been really interesting.’’

The Institute of Architects has recently established a committee for equitable practices, which Ms Bright sees as a positive step for the industry.

“They’ve made a committee within the institute working out how they can make more equitable practice, largely about women but also about sustainable work practice. It’s quite exciting,” she said.