by Rebecca Keillor
Vancouver Sun, August 7, 2015
(Image: T’it’q’et Community Hall and Health Centre in Lillooet designed by Vancouver’s female lead firm, Urban Arts Architecture. Courtesy of Vancouver Sun, photo by Martin Knowles)
While architecture programs at Canadian universities like the University of B.C. are made up of a fairly even number of female and male students, the number of women who stick with it and make it to the level of partner is significantly
less.
“Women enter the field and start working but the attrition rate is quite bad because it’s hard to stay in the field if you want to have children and balance different parts of your life,” says Cindy Wilson, principal at Vancouver’s Lang
Wilson Practice In Architecture Culture.
Entering the industry in the early 90s, Wilson says it was hard to find female mentors in architecture and the ones that were succeeding, like Zaha Hadid, were not relatable. Read more…