Diversity in Architecture?

For many individuals who start out on the long difficult path to becoming an architect, the desire to become licensed can seem nearly impossible. First there is the minimum 5 year bachelor degree followed by 3740 experience hours (until recently it was 5600 hrs) in various categories of practice. Suffice it to say that reaching the point of taking the seven ARE exams feels like hiking out of frozen Siberia and then being asked to cross the Gobi desert on foot. 

Having recently navigated this difficult journey, I took a moment to reflect on how I reached the destination. Out of curiosity, I looked into the statistics to see how my progress compared to the profession as a whole. The sad fact is that very few aspiring architects ever make it to licensure, despite the current shortage of licensed professionals in the United States. NCARB (the licensing body for architects) publish the numbers on their testing program and they are truly horrifying. Graduates on average only finish the experience hours by the age of 30.7 years. Taking the tests takes at least 2.5 years for many thus leading to candidates becoming licensed on average at 33.3 years. This kind of time commitment is costly and damaging to the diversity and success of the architecture profession. Without support from mentors few will make it on their own.The following graphs from NCARB illustrate that 66% of record holders are white and male.

While NCARB tries to put a positive spin on this, it is unfathomable that the architecture profession should be this lacking in diversity. Many theories exist as to why the profession excludes women and minorities. However, my personal experience is telling. I had mentors and other architects who served as examples to me for how to succeed. Along the way, I was encouraged to take the test at every step and given advice on the right study materials and the knowledge and skills required. This should be the experience of everyone. But clearly it is not. Take for example this graph that shows gender percentages at different stages in the process.

Note that while women are taking the test they are not getting licensed or becoming IDP supervisors mentoring junior staff.

Even more than support taking the tests, my mentors discussed with me the benefits of licensure both from an economic and personal satisfaction standpoint. If you are licensed you are very likely to make more money. It is absolutely vital that licensed architects actively watch for bias in who they mentor within their office and speak up for gender equality, equal pay, and diversity in the profession. It is all to easy in the hectic day to not take the time to mentor junior staff and encourage them in their  progress.

Diversity? It is up to us, licensed architects, to make it happen.