The design of buildings and how they fit into our environment can greatly impact women's lives. These barriers created by design, intentionally or not, play out within the profession itself. Architecture remains an incredibly male-dominated industry. A study from September 2023 shows that only 31% of registered architects were women, and the gender pay gap data from last year shows a 16% gap (more than double the UK average).
As part of our continuous work to address barriers in the sector, we are partnering with the Fawcett Society on a project towards achieving gender equity in architecture, and we need your help.
We’re asking women who work – or have worked – in architecture to fill out a survey about their experiences, so we can get an accurate picture of how gender inequality manifests itself throughout the industry.
Your experiences will then inform our action plan to help us drive progress and change within the profession.
Complete the Fawcett Society survey by 22 April 2025.
Survey information
The survey is split into six sections and will ask you about:
- your journey in architecture
- your career progression
- any caring responsibilities
- your pay and recognition
- experiences of discrimination
- what needs to change
The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete, you are free to skip certain sections, and there is enough space to share your experiences in your own words. The survey is completely anonymous, and your data will be held securely by the Fawcett Society, according to their privacy policy.
We are also carrying out a limited number of interviews as part of this project to explore the themes in this survey in more depth. If you would like to take part in an interview, please express your interest using this form. Interviews will take no longer than one hour, and you will be offered a £50 voucher, allowing you to spend in hundreds of shops, as a thank you for sharing your experience.
While everyone is welcome to fill out this form, we’re particularly keen to hear from people from women who are from underrepresented groups, including disabled people, people from ethnically minoritised backgrounds, and people with caring responsibilities.
If you have any issues filling out the survey or the interview form, please contact researcher, Rhianna, rhianna.mallia@fawcettsociety.org.uk who can support you to participate in a way that works for you.
Whether you have been practising for decades, are still studying, are newly qualified, are on a career break, or have left the profession, we want to hear from you. Please share this survey with your architecture networks so that we can collate the widest possible range of voices from women in the sector.
Complete the Fawcett Society survey by 22 April 2025.
About our work on gender equity in architecture
How the built environment is designed, can greatly impact the lives of women on a daily basis. This can include housing which doesn’t suit women’s needs, business districts which make them feel unsafe, and shopping centres which don’t accommodate buggies and wheelchairs.
To try and challenge this lack of equity in architecture, we have commissioned the Fawcett Society to explore the experiences of women in architecture as a means of informing an in-depth action plan for the profession.
This project includes a survey and interviews with women working in architecture, or those who have left the profession, as well as research into what has worked to improve gender equality in other professions and different countries. It will form part of a larger body of ongoing work from RIBA and other architecture bodies to address gender barriers and their impacts on the built environment.
Your views, collated through this survey will inform recommendations to make meaningful changes in architecture. They will call on architecture firms, employers, educational institutions, professional associations such as RIBA, and lawmakers to work together to tackle the gender inequality that shapes our built environment.
How to get involved further
This project forms part of an ongoing body of work addressing gender inequity in architecture and the wider built environment.
Explore our resources and guidance to help take action and drive change within your workplace now.
- Gender pay gap guidance – reporting and data interpretation
- Retaining women in architecture – resources on supporting women in the workplace
- Microaggressions toolkit – for understanding and addressing microaggressions in the workplace
- Our gender equity and other EDI blogs
- Guidance on gender equity in the workplace - including menopause and other EDI resources
If you would like to find out more about the project, you can email alys.mumford@fawcettsociety.org.uk.
