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Where Are the Women Architects?
A timely and important search for architecture's missing women
For a century and a half, women have been proving their passion and talent for building and, in recent decades, their enrollment in architecture schools has soared. Yet the number of women working as architects remains stubbornly low, and the higher one looks in the profession, the scarcer women become. Law and medicine, two equally demanding and traditionally male professions, have been much more successful in retaining and integrating women. So why do women still struggle to keep a toehold in architecture? Where Are the Women Architects? tells the story of women's stagnating numbers in a profession that remains a male citadel, and explores how a new generation of activists is fighting back, grabbing headlines, and building coalitions that promise to bring about change.
Despina Stratigakos's provocative examination of the past, current, and potential future roles of women in the profession begins with the backstory, revealing how the field has dodged the question of women's absence since the nineteenth century. It then turns to the status of women in architecture today, and the serious, entrenched hurdles they face. But the story isn't without hope, and the book documents the rise of new advocates who are challenging the profession's boys' club, from its male-dominated elite prizes to the erasure of women architects from Wikipedia. These advocates include Stratigakos herself and here she also tells the story of her involvement in the controversial creation of Architect Barbie.
Accessible, frank, and lively, Where Are the Women Architects? will be a revelation for readers far beyond the world of architecture.
-- "Books in Brief"
For a century and a half, women have been proving their passion and talent for building and, in recent decades, their enrollment in architecture schools has soared. Yet the number of women working as architects remains stubbornly low, and the higher one looks in the profession, the scarcer women become. Law and medicine, two equally demanding and traditionally male professions, have been much more successful in retaining and integrating women. So why do women still struggle to keep a toehold in architecture? Where Are the Women Architects? tells the story of women's stagnating numbers in a profession that remains a male citadel, and explores how a new generation of activists is fighting back, grabbing headlines, and building coalitions that promise to bring about change.
Despina Stratigakos's provocative examination of the past, current, and potential future roles of women in the profession begins with the backstory, revealing how the field has dodged the question of women's absence since the nineteenth century. It then turns to the status of women in architecture today, and the serious, entrenched hurdles they face. But the story isn't without hope, and the book documents the rise of new advocates who are challenging the profession's boys' club, from its male-dominated elite prizes to the erasure of women architects from Wikipedia. These advocates include Stratigakos herself and here she also tells the story of her involvement in the controversial creation of Architect Barbie.
Accessible, frank, and lively, Where Are the Women Architects? will be a revelation for readers far beyond the world of architecture.
-- "Books in Brief"
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2016
12 people are currently reading
656 people want to read
About the author
Despina Stratigakos
7 books17 followersDespina Stratigakos is a Canadian-born architectural historian, professor, and writer. She taught at Harvard University and the University of Michigan before joining the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo.
From 2018-22, Stratigakos served as the University at Buffalo's Vice Provost of Inclusive Excellence. She previously served as a Director of the Society of Architectural Historians, an Advisor of the International Archive of Women in Architecture at Virginia Tech, a Trustee of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, and Deputy Director of the Gender Institute at the University at Buffalo.
From 2018-22, Stratigakos served as the University at Buffalo's Vice Provost of Inclusive Excellence. She previously served as a Director of the Society of Architectural Historians, an Advisor of the International Archive of Women in Architecture at Virginia Tech, a Trustee of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, and Deputy Director of the Gender Institute at the University at Buffalo.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 25, 2016
Excellent discussion of women's difficulties in the architecture field, including underrepresentation in prizes, underrepresentation and exclusion in Wikipedia entries, disparities in pay, and the large drop off of women practitioners.
September 22, 2017
Just started. I'm reading based on the author being one of the prodders for Architect Barbie.... "I would pay big money for a hot-pink drawing tube!" and a good review at WSJ.
Sadly, it looks to be written in academese vs. Good English. A pity, since it's an attractive small book, and an interesting topic. May appeal to, well, academics.
"Accessible, frank, and lively, Where Are the Women Architects? will be a revelation for readers ..." --Publisher's website. NOT.
I'm closing this one out DNF, since it's coming due.... Actually, that's a lie. The truth: So many books, so little time. So hell with it.
Sadly, it looks to be written in academese vs. Good English. A pity, since it's an attractive small book, and an interesting topic. May appeal to, well, academics.
"Accessible, frank, and lively, Where Are the Women Architects? will be a revelation for readers ..." --Publisher's website. NOT.
I'm closing this one out DNF, since it's coming due.... Actually, that's a lie. The truth: So many books, so little time. So hell with it.
August 16, 2020
A depressing read that makes me glad I dropped out of studying architecture. Only 28% of women architects are satisfied with their profession! I enjoyed reading about the development of, and reactions to, Architect Barbie too.
April 30, 2016
As someone who works in an architecture firm (as a jack-of-all trades administrative manager, not an architect), and as someone who has always been interested in gender studies and women's roles in careers, this book aligned closely with my professional interests. It's no surprise to anyone within the field of architecture that the field is male dominated - my office is fifty percent female, and yet the senior management is 82% male. (Something that the male leadership is actively trying to change towards more gender balance!) I find myself agreeing with Stratigakos that it can't only be that 50 years ago more men than women graduated from architecture schools, but more that the profession seems to shut women out, not providing equal mentoring or project opportunities.
While I was hoping that Stratigakos would present more ideas for workplace balance, she focuses on a larger picture overview of history of architecture, the possible brokeness of star architect system (no kidding!), architectural prizes, and exposing the field and public to more women architects throughout history.
I'd actually recommend this to those outside of the architectural field who are interested in gender dynamics.
While I was hoping that Stratigakos would present more ideas for workplace balance, she focuses on a larger picture overview of history of architecture, the possible brokeness of star architect system (no kidding!), architectural prizes, and exposing the field and public to more women architects throughout history.
I'd actually recommend this to those outside of the architectural field who are interested in gender dynamics.
August 7, 2022
It started off slow I will admit, coming off like just another Guardian Long Read, but it gets better! What could have simply stayed as a simple namedrop turns into detailed phenomenology. It spans all the way from Egyptian Hatshepsut to the saving of Thekla Schild's Wikipedia page. Definitely an important contribution to scholarship on the systematic silencing and erasure of women in architecture.
February 13, 2024
As a woman who is going to be an architect in the future, I deeply understood the book and felt sorry for all societies, including my own society, that women are generally considered a machine for having children, and if they want to be successful in their profession, then they will definitely be bad mothers.
September 16, 2024
This is a short, interesting and totally worthy book by an academic and a writer who has been an advocate for a feminist history of architecture and for women architects for decades. I particularly liked the following chapters:
On Architect!Barbie. Stratigakos was involved in designing this Barbie, and the way she writes about it, including criticisms of it, is entertaining and interesting. What should Architect!Barbie wear? How to reconcile a profession that involves stomping around building sites with Barbie's high-heel adapted feet? Is pink a good colour for a tube of architectural drawings? And I particularly liked the part where the author describes workshops she and others ran which used Architect!Barbie to draw in young girls and get them to design houses. One girl drew a floor plan that included a room for monsters so that they would not intrude into other parts of the house - a great anti-patriarchal design strategy.
On Wikipedia. It is for this chapter that I ordered the book. I was very interested in Stratigakos' discussion of tactics, workshops, wikipedia-thons, ideologies and statistics involved in redressing the balance, specifically the dearth of women's biographies on Wikipedia. Over 90% of Wikipedia editors are men and Stratigakos encourages everyone to become an editor, to set up links to women from pages about men, and to set up pages on women. In her case, the focus is on women architects but I am determined to make an inroad into women sculptors and other women creatives. The point about inserting links is especially important as a large number of Wikipedia pages on women are dead-end pages with nothing linking to them and hence unfindable. Interesting was also the observation that many pages on women get suggested for deletion by various men editors almost as soon as they are published.
Other chapters are about the history of women in the architectural profession (they've been there since the mid-19th century and have been advocating for their profession from the get-go) and the focus on men superstars in prize-giving -- all interesting.
A slim little book with beautiful creamy pages.
On Architect!Barbie. Stratigakos was involved in designing this Barbie, and the way she writes about it, including criticisms of it, is entertaining and interesting. What should Architect!Barbie wear? How to reconcile a profession that involves stomping around building sites with Barbie's high-heel adapted feet? Is pink a good colour for a tube of architectural drawings? And I particularly liked the part where the author describes workshops she and others ran which used Architect!Barbie to draw in young girls and get them to design houses. One girl drew a floor plan that included a room for monsters so that they would not intrude into other parts of the house - a great anti-patriarchal design strategy.
On Wikipedia. It is for this chapter that I ordered the book. I was very interested in Stratigakos' discussion of tactics, workshops, wikipedia-thons, ideologies and statistics involved in redressing the balance, specifically the dearth of women's biographies on Wikipedia. Over 90% of Wikipedia editors are men and Stratigakos encourages everyone to become an editor, to set up links to women from pages about men, and to set up pages on women. In her case, the focus is on women architects but I am determined to make an inroad into women sculptors and other women creatives. The point about inserting links is especially important as a large number of Wikipedia pages on women are dead-end pages with nothing linking to them and hence unfindable. Interesting was also the observation that many pages on women get suggested for deletion by various men editors almost as soon as they are published.
Other chapters are about the history of women in the architectural profession (they've been there since the mid-19th century and have been advocating for their profession from the get-go) and the focus on men superstars in prize-giving -- all interesting.
A slim little book with beautiful creamy pages.
October 21, 2019
I really wanted to love this book, and maybe it's because I had such high hopes for it that I felt it was just not a great read and left me frustrated and feeling that this book could have been so much more.
I loved the beginning, with examples of Denise Scott Brown in the shadows of her husband Robert Venturi, but the author completely lost me in the end with examples of how men are keeping women architects down by removing Wikipedia entries about women architects that the author admits some may have not had substantial information. I understand her point, but I really would have preferred to read more about these little-known architects or unknown architects rather than read a rant about how Wikipedia is sexist.
I grabbed this book in hopes of feeling empowered by the amazing things these little-known women architects did and how they overcame being one of few women in a male-dominated field but instead I finished the book frustrated from reading a long rant about how men have kept women down but Wikipedia now has women editors who are adding content about women.
Overall I felt it was just OK. I think I would have enjoyed it more without the last couple chapters, but that last bit just left me feeling disappointed with the book.
I loved the beginning, with examples of Denise Scott Brown in the shadows of her husband Robert Venturi, but the author completely lost me in the end with examples of how men are keeping women architects down by removing Wikipedia entries about women architects that the author admits some may have not had substantial information. I understand her point, but I really would have preferred to read more about these little-known architects or unknown architects rather than read a rant about how Wikipedia is sexist.
I grabbed this book in hopes of feeling empowered by the amazing things these little-known women architects did and how they overcame being one of few women in a male-dominated field but instead I finished the book frustrated from reading a long rant about how men have kept women down but Wikipedia now has women editors who are adding content about women.
Overall I felt it was just OK. I think I would have enjoyed it more without the last couple chapters, but that last bit just left me feeling disappointed with the book.
May 7, 2021
pros: extensive and detailed rendering of all the small and big factors that make the architecture field hostile and unwelcoming for women, including a comparative view of the field from the 18th century that shows that of all the male-dominated fields out there, architecture might be the one with the least progress to gender parity. a bleak look on not just inequality but complete exclusion of women in the highest and most respected positions and awards in the field causing a whole trickle-down of women leaving the profession. as stratigakos describes it, not a glass ceiling, but a "massive, choking bottleneck squeezing women out of practice."
cons: depressed the shit out of me. may or may not have made me more convinced to switch majors.
cons: depressed the shit out of me. may or may not have made me more convinced to switch majors.
September 18, 2019
This is a small but mighty little book containing five focused essays (plus intro and conclusion which are powerful essays in themselves) on the state of women in architecture. Highly recommend for anyone in a design profession who is concerned about equity (i.e. should be everyone). It is incredibly well researched and although has an academic tone (Stratigakos teaches at SUNY Buffalo) is very accessible. I’ll be keeping this one on my desk at work for easy reference.
June 3, 2018
This is an important book on a topic that most would rather ignore, it seems. Like it or not, things are not well in the architectural world. I do wish it hadn't used internet comments on blogs and articles as examples of backlash, even if those same sentiments are shared professionally it makes it easy to dismiss them as trolls.
April 29, 2017
Architecture seems like a very backwards, regressive field for women because of biases and prejudices against women's spatial capabilities, biases against motherhood, and even digital exclusion of women's contributions historically.
November 2, 2022
A w zasadzie to nawet 3,5.
Bardzo potrzebna książka, ale temat jest tutaj ledwie dotknięty (110 stron, nie licząc wprowadzenia, zakończenia, podziękowań i bibliografii). I jeszcze te fragmenty o kasowaniu wpisów o architektkach na Wikipedii, kiedy sama autorka wspomina, że te wpisy czasami były zwyczajnie źle napisane
Bardzo potrzebna książka, ale temat jest tutaj ledwie dotknięty (110 stron, nie licząc wprowadzenia, zakończenia, podziękowań i bibliografii). I jeszcze te fragmenty o kasowaniu wpisów o architektkach na Wikipedii, kiedy sama autorka wspomina, że te wpisy czasami były zwyczajnie źle napisane
May 29, 2018
This book is current, topical and fact-based. Not only informative but engaging and a worth while read.
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April 29, 2020I had to read this book for class but I was very surprised as to how much I liked it. It was shorter than I thought it would be but it really had a lot of very interesting information.
April 1, 2022
Bardzo potrzebna książka.
November 21, 2022
Krótka i zwięzła pozycja przedstawiająca problem architektek w historii. Zachęca do głębszej analizy.
November 4, 2024
Dużo danych. Informacje, które nie są powszechnie znane, dowiedziałam się wiele nowych rzeczy. Momentami powtarzają się tak jakby sklejono osobne eseje.
January 17, 2025
nie mogę się doczekać bycia architektką
February 10, 2025
“All she needs is courage.”
April 3, 2023
This book is fact based and I appreciate that. I did not like that it lumped all women in one category.
Women of Color barely exist in the space of architecture and the author completely missed that in this book .
Women of Color barely exist in the space of architecture and the author completely missed that in this book .
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews