Women, Architecture, and the Great Recession

Women make up one third of Norm and the Gang.  I’d say that is a pretty respectable ratio.

In conjunction with Women’s History Month (happening right now in United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia; and for whatever reason observed in Canada in October), the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. holds an annual lecture program on the topic of Women in Architecture.

Here, a panel made up of women powerhouses in the architecture and building industries give us their insights on Architecture and the Great Recession - Shelia Cahnman, group vice president, HOK, Chicago; MaryAnne Gilmartin, executive vice president, director of commercial & residential development, Forest City Ratner Companies, New York; Cathleen McGuigan, editor-in-chief, Architectural Record, New York; and Claire Weisz, WXY Architecture + Urban Design, New York.

In this discussion they address the challenges created by the current recession, what they learned living through previous recessions, how they are responding to the prolonged economic downturn, women’s roles in the industry, and offer some tangible advice to new graduates entering the field.

For those of you interested in pursuing careers in architecture and city building, hopefully you’ll find this one-hour mentor session helpful.  It’s definitely more productive (and not as annoying) than watching an hour of The View.