F E AT U R E
Slow steps in the move to gender parity The LI annual conference in Sheffield which took place in 2016 addressed the challenges facing women in landscape architecture. Romy Rawlings was a keynote speaker at the conference and now reviews progress since that date. Romy Rawlings
Vestre
When I first spoke about gender parity at the LI’s conference in 2016, little did I know what lay ahead! Since then, the LI has been more focussed than ever before on many areas around Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), including the gender (im)balance in our profession at higher levels. I chaired the LI’s D&I working group for a few years, have spoken at many events (including a closed session at the House of Lords on women in construction), and continue to point out inequality wherever I come across it, as much as it grates with many people, and I find it exhausting at times! Following a first interview at this same conference in Sheffield over 5 years ago, I was subsequently employed by Vestre, a Norwegian company with strongly Scandinavian ideals (which has perhaps been the biggest eye opener of all!). During that session, I highlighted the day-to-day challenges experienced by many women in the landscape profession: for instance, finding usable toilets and PPE that fits during site visits, and the much greater issue of the systemic problems of women failing to attain senior positions within many practices. I painted a picture of a profession that welcomed women at the early stages of their careers, but 22
which made little effort to retain their expertise and skills beyond mid-career. Much of the feedback over the intervening years has both surprised and horrified me. There are many women who (thankfully) haven’t personally encountered any such difficulties and don’t understand why the topic even needs to be raised. There are others who, through gritted teeth and tears, have described truly awful examples of injustice and stifled career progression. What I’ve learned – and to be honest, always suspected – is that the gender imbalance seems intrinsically linked to motherhood as opposed to gender alone. Certainly not always, but the more I hear and read, the stronger the link appears as women hit their thirties and forties, and parenting brings immense challenges in terms of childcare costs and availability. On this subject, if you haven’t already, please read ‘Pregnant Then Screwed’1 by Joeli Brearley (whether you’re a parent or not, male or female, employee or employer). I’m beginning to believe that motherhood is the single greatest barrier to gender equality and, until several aspects around this are addressed, we will continue to see what is generally described as glacial improvement in the sphere of women’s equality in the workplace. Shortly after that first discussion in Sheffield, there were subsequently five areas of inequality identified in the LI’s member survey of 2017, of which gender equality was one (there’s another member survey planned and it will be interesting to make direct comparisons across the data from five years go). The other areas require
attention, and some (for instance issues facing black staff, those from minority communities and members with disabilities, disability) could be argued to be more pressing. Each requires a different approach if we’re to become a truly inclusive organisation. In terms of the gender balance, university entry to landscape courses is skewed in favour of women with more entering the profession than
1.
1. Pregnant then Screwed - The Truth About the Motherhood Penalty and How to Fix It by Joeli Brearly.
