has put together an anonymous survey to gather information, stories, and advice, for caregivers working in architecture & related fields.
Outdated restrictive firm cultures are challenging for architectural workers who have personal caregiving responsibilities to children, the elderly, and friends and family with illnesses or other needs. For decades, surveys and journalism from both Canada as well as across the globe have shown consistent evidence that inequities across gender, which is much entangled with parenthood, define the profession of architecture.
Increasingly, architecture firms are recognizing the importance of work–life balance and implementing company policies that help staff tend to loved ones. How do these cultures and policies affect workers feeling empowered to have kids (or not)? How do they affect staff retention? How do they discriminate gender, age, class privilege?
The problem is not the lack of evidence, but a lack of will to address systemic issues. The brunt of the frustration and responsibility to advocate is then passed onto individuals - often those who are parents or groups facing various barriers outside of work too. We'd love to hear from your experiences and collectively imagine a better way forward.
Thank you for filling out this survey, and please share widely, to help inform a campaign strategy to tackle these issues. We're stronger together. 