Slipping Through The Gap

Architecture

SLIPPING THROUGH THE GAP

Analysing the Pay Gap for Women in Architecture

When two people do the same job for the same company, it is logical they should be doing so for the same pay right? So why is it that women often have to accept a gender pay gap and in terms of the architectural industry, isn’t it ironic that an industry concerned with the needs of others and making a change in the world in such ways as designing hospitals, refuges, etc, cannot even help the its own workers within the industry.’[1] It is my intention to examine the importance of ethical research when determining if a pay gap actually does exist, for women in architecture.

In the architectural industry, there are many factors that skew the pay gap in favour of men. Statistics highlight in the building and architectural industry (encompassing architecture, landscape architecture, environmental and industrial design), has the worst pay gap compared to other industries. [2] It has increased from 12% in 2010, 14% in 2011 [3] to 17% in 2012.[4] What does this pay gap mean in real terms? The 17% pay gap indicates that “women’s work is valued at 83% of their male colleagues”.[5] Pay levels are associated to “power, influence, credibility and esteem”,[6] so it is fair to say, pay inequality negatively impacts female architects. also reflected in their work ethic and engagement in the workforce in they are more inclined to leave the practice’.[7]

As sample sizes change every year, it is difficult to determine exactly the patterns of the gender pay gap and whether it is increasing or decreasing over time and by how much.[8] Data from the Association of Consulting Architects (figure 1) illustrates that women are more often in junior categories rather than promoted to senior positions, thus earning less than men in all but two categories- with those two categories being a difference of less that 5%.[9]

The number of people surveyed in a 2012 survey conducted by Graduate Careers Australia highlighted that there was a movement in the positive direction for the wages for women in architecture, however, the sample size of those surveyed, dropped from 90 to 77— hence are 77 people really enough to inform us about the pay difference for male and female architects? [10] ‘As does the Architects Journal Survey which took information from 1277 women and 340 men’[11]— a far from accurate depiction of the industry to determine if there is a pay gap for women in architecture.

Figure 1

Figure 1

The importance of ethical research is illustrated when looking at the results from an article published in Vogue relating to the pay gaps in industries which are in favour of women. Surprisingly and contradictory to other research, this article suggested that a reverse pay gap exists in the architectural industry, with women getting paid more than men by 14%. [12] Thus this article assumes there are no issues for women in architecture relating to a pay gap— if anything, it is quite the opposite. Unfortunately this is a complete misconception, and upon looking further into how these conclusions were reached, it is clear that these statistics are not to be trusted. This survey was conducted using the resumes of 317 people in the USA with an architecture major. Considering that there are around 6000 architecture school graduates a year, this does not reflect an accurate sample size. [13] In addition, of the 317 students surveyed, 64% were from men. “This does not reflect the ratio of male to female graduates which is similar to that in Australia (56% men and 44% women)”. [14] Therefore, this research can be easily flawed.

“Breaking news, women are not condiments, accessories to male lives providing flavour on the side.”
– Gill matthewson

‘Age is an important factor, such as in Figure 2, which illustrates that men are in the architectural industry for longer than women. It can be presumed then that they are more experienced, and therefore likely to earn more.’[15] Hence, to get a more accurate interpretation of the gender pay gap, Figure 3 shows the earnings of full time workers per age bracket.[16] And of the bracket with a lesser pay gap (40-44), there are a larger number of people in that bracket, influencing the results.[17] ‘A gender pay gap definitely exists in the architectural industry’.[18] Figure 3 presents a more accurate research method as it is taken from a full sample size of architects over the age of 25 — a total of 11 000 architects. The numbers show that the pay gap increases from 6% in the youngest age bracket to 17% at its highest point for the architects in the 55-59 category. There is also a reverse gender pay gap in the 60-64 age bracket, with women earning a tiny 2% more than their male counterparts. However, again, considering the source of the data, shows within that age bracket, 40 women were surveyed, compared to the 700 men.[19]

Figure 2: Number of architects in each age bracket       Figure 3: Gender pay gap of each age bracket

In summary, there is undoubtably a gender pay gap in existence in the architectural industry. But we must not only recognise it, but action it! Work places could implement a transparent pay scheme so nothing is “hidden” between co-workers, reviewing salaries on promotion and entry and “analysing roles in terms of equal value as well as equal work”[20]

 

REFERENCES

  • [1] Justine Clark. “The Graduate Gender Pay Gap Part 1 – What do the Numbers Mean?” Parlour, January 13, 2013. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://archiparlour.org/the-graduate-gender-pay-gap-part-1-what-do-the-numbers-mean/
  • [2] ibid
  • [3] ibid
  • [4] Shelley Penn. “Gender salary gap not so great.” Architecture AU, February 13, 2013. Accessed April 17, 2018. https://architectureau.com/articles/gender-wage-warfare/
  • [5] Justine Clark. “The Graduate Gender Pay Gap Part 1 – What do the Numbers Mean?” Parlour, January 13, 2013. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://archiparlour.org/the-graduate-gender-pay-gap-part-1-what-do-the-numbers-mean/
  • [6] Naomi Stead and Justine Clark, Pay Equity (Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, 2014), chap. 1,http://www.archiparlour.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Guide1-PayEquity.pdf
  • [7] ibid
  • [8] ACA. “2017 Salary Survey – Findings.” The Business of Architecture, May 31, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://aca.org.au/article/2017-salary-survey-findings
  • [9] ibid
  • [10] Shelley Penn. “Gender salary gap not so great.” Architecture AU, February 13, 2013. Accessed April 17, 2018. https://architectureau.com/articles/gender-wage-warfare/
  • [11] Gill Matthewson. “Breaking news: women are not condiments” Parlour, February 23, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://archiparlour.org/breaking-news-women-not-condiments/
  • [12] Gill Matthewson. “No, Women Do Not Earn More than Men in Architecture” Parlour, June 24, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://archiparlour.org/no-vogue-women-not-earn-men-architecture/
  • [13] ibid
  • [14] ibid
  • [15] Gill Matthewson. “Mind the Gap” Parlour, March 16, 2016. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://archiparlour.org/mind-the-gap/
  • [16] ibid
  • [17] ibid
  • [18] Gill Matthewson. “Breaking news: women are not condiments” Parlour, February 23, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://archiparlour.org/breaking-news-women-not-condiments/
  • [19] ibid
  • [20] ACA. “2017 Salary Survey – Findings.” The Business of Architecture, May 31, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://aca.org.au/article/2017-salary-survey-findings
  • Figure 1: ACA. “2017 Salary Survey – Findings.” The Business of Architecture, May 31, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://aca.org.au/article/2017-salary-survey-findings
  • Figure 2: Naomi Stead and Justine Clark, Pay Equity (Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, 2014), chap. 1,http://www.archiparlour.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Guide1-PayEquity.pdf
  • Figure 3: Naomi Stead and Justine Clark, Pay Equity (Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, 2014), chap. 1,http://www.archiparlour.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Guide1-PayEquity.pdf