Commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and independently produced by the Fawcett Society, a new ‘landmark report and action plan’ looks at gender equity in the architecture profession.
RIBA writes:
Twenty years on from the study Why do women leave architecture?, this 2025 report, Build it Together, examines what progress has been made and whether the challenges highlighted in the 2003 report persist today.
The original report was funded by RIBA and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) with funding matched, and the report delivered by the University of the West of England. Women continue to face unequal pay, barriers to progression, and workplace cultures that exclude those with caring responsibilities. Many report that long hours, presenteeism, and a lack of HR structures prevent them from thriving.? Despite these challenges, Build It Together highlights growing examples of good practice: flexible working, transparent promotion processes, and networks leading change from the ground up.?
Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick MBE FRCGP (Hon) RIBA Chief Executive [said] ‘This report lays bare the scale of architecture’s gender inequity crisis. We cannot afford to lose talented women to outdated workplace cultures or structural inequity.’
The report makes 47 recommendations for RIBA, practices and government. We accept the report and note all the recommendations. Of the 47 recommendations, 20 are for RIBA, and we have launched a one-year action plan addressing 10 of these, while we continue to explore the remaining 10 recommendations. Much of this work is already underway, including HR policy templates and CPD for those returning to work. RIBA’s actions will help practices and employers in advancing the recommendations set out for them in the report. While not all recommendations will be applicable to every architecture practice, we hope that practices will take these in the spirit they were intended, and work to the best of their ability to implement them. As leaders in the built environment, architects must be at the forefront of inclusion and diversity. When workplaces are more inclusive and diverse they have better retention and progression rates.
Recommendations and our action plan
Within the report, the Fawcett Society have developed a series of recommendations for RIBA and for practices/employers.
The one-year action plan sets out how we will address 10 of the 20 recommendations for RIBA in the next twelve months to the end of 2026, while we continue to explore the remaining 10 recommendations. Much of this work is already underway, and we will annually review the action plan and report on progress. To view the action plan go to the link below.
