The Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice help architecture move towards a more equitable profession; one that offers opportunity for all and is better positioned to meet contemporary challenges.
Note: the guides are currently being updated. New versions will be available shortly.
Architecture is in the midst of substantial change. How architects define themselves, how practices operate, and the range of roles and types of work pursued – all is up for grabs. Many architects are now asking for a more inclusive profession, one that assists women and men to better balance their professional and personal lives, to realise their full potential, and to stay in the profession.
The guides help facilitate this change. Addressed to practices, employees and the wider profession, they outline the key issues facing women in architectural workplaces and provide positive, productive strategies and suggestions for change.
The Parlour Guides are for everyone.
The architecture firm of the future – with increased flexibility, meaningful part-time work, acceptable career breaks and reasonable hours – will benefit us all. The challenges that face women in architecture also affect men, however they tend to impact on women in exaggerated ways.
There is no one reason for women’s significant under representation in architecture and no one solution. The Guides provide multiple tactics to deal with multiple issues. They also recognise that gender inequity needs to be tackled by us all: women and men, employers and employees, students and practitioners, universities and professional bodies, we all have the ability, and the obligation, to make a difference.
Download the guides here:
Introduction: Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice:
01 Pay Equity: Moving towards equal pay for women and men in architecture
02 Long hours: Challenging long-hours cultures in architecture
03 Part-time work: Creating and promoting meaningful part-time work in architecture
04 Flexibility: Making flexible working arrangements work in architecture
05 Recruitment: Achieving equitable recruitment in architecture
06 Career progression: Navigating diverse architectural careers.
07 Negotiation: Negotiating effectively in architecture.
08 Career break: Planning, managing and returning from a career break in architecture
09 Leadership: Promoting and supporting women to senior roles in architecture.
10 Mentoring: The importance of mentors in architecture
11 Registration: Supporting women who choose to register
Good luck and please let us know if the guides have been useful for you. We’d love to know if and how you have put them into practice. You can email us at hello@parlour.org.au
If you would like your own Parlour Guides poster, designed by Studio Catherine Griffiths, download the PDF version here ParlourGuides-Set.
If you have found the Parlour Guides helpful please consider joining the Parlour Collective to help support our ongoing work. You too can have your name on the Meet the Collective list!
