Job satisfaction among architects remains a half-full/half-empty story.
In its latest survey on industry diversity (which can be downloaded from here), The American Institute of Architects (AIA) found that about half of the 7,522 architects who responded reported high satisfaction with their jobs overall.
At least three-fifths believe their firms treat all of their employees equally, and well more than half of respondents are satisfied with their job security.
The survey reveals that less than half of respondents are satisfied with their work-life balance, or with the recognition they receive, or even with how many meaningful projects they’re working on.
But as the survey peels away the onionskin, it reveals that less than half of respondents are satisfied with their work-life balance, or with the recognition they receive, or even with how many meaningful projects they’re working on. “Satisfaction is lowest on salary and fairness and transparency of their employers’ promotion and compensation practices,” the report states.
Unfortunately, this is not exactly earthshaking news. Nor are the findings of considerable differences in satisfaction levels when the survey’s responses are broken down by gender and race. Those differences betray an architectural industry that, at least according to the respondents, still isn’t doing nearly enough to attract and retain women or minorities.
First, some stats: The survey’s respondents included 4,223 men and 3,117 women. People of color comprised 1,518 of respondents, whites 5,763. The survey oversampled women and minorities to increase participation and ensure the report reflected their views.
The mean age of the respondents was 39.7, although 45% of the women, 30% of the men, and 37% of people with color were between the ages of 25 and 34.
The majority of women and people of color agreed that they are either “somewhat” or “very” underrepresented in the industry. Perhaps more salient is the finding that half of all women think their gender is less likely to be promoted to more senior positions. And white women are more aggrieved than women or men of color, less than one third of whom see a racial divide when it comes to promotions.
A sizable minority of women said they are more likely to be funneled into interior design or design-related fields, and not architecture.
The survey explored why more women and minorities aren’t advancing. Concerns about work-life balance are definitely a factor. Seventy-one percent of women say they leave their jobs because long work hours are antithetical to starting a family. And there’s a consensus that companies could attract and retain more women if they allowed for a better work-life balance, which might include flexible hours and working remotely.
“It is notable that all architects (regardless of gender or race) consider work-life balance important, and many have low satisfaction with their ability to achieve it,” the report states. “The majority of architects feels that managing work-life balance is more difficult for them compared with other professionals and wish for greater job flexibility in the industry.”
Among the ways that companies could hire and retain their women and minority architects include offering mentoring and personal development programs, reaching out to schools and communities, and providing industry-funded scholarships (69% of people of color say their race is underrepresented in the industry because architecture school is too expensive). Across the board, respondents also think companies must provide clear, written criteria for job promotions.
The survey revisits the impact of salary on diversity and job satisfaction. According to payscale.com, the average salary for someone who has earned a Master of Architecture degree starts at around $35,000 for an intern architect, and rises to about $99,000 for a project manager-architecture.
The AIA survey found that 43% of men of color, 38% of women of color, and 37% of white women didn’t think their salaries were commensurate with their hours worked. More specifically, only 29% of women of color, 31% of white women, and 38% of white men and men of color said they are satisfied with their salaries.
Perceptions that you’re not getting paid what you’re worth can be demoralizing. And perhaps the most alarming finding in the survey is that only 43% of women of color and 46% of white women feel passionate about what they do, compared to 55% of men of color, and 52% of white men.
Charts courtesy AIA:
Related Stories
| Dec 18, 2014
11 new highs for tall buildings: CTBUH recaps the year's top moments in skyscraper construction
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat cherrypicked the top moments from 2014, including a record concrete pour, a cautionary note about high-rise development, and two men's daring feat.
| Dec 18, 2014
International Parking Institute and Green Parking Council collaborate with GBCI
The new collaboration recognizes importance of sustainable parking facility design and management to the built environment.
| Dec 18, 2014
Top 10 sports facilities of 2014: Designboom ranks the year's best projects
The list includes some of the year's epic stadiums, such as World Cup Stadium Arena de Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, and smaller projects, like the Spordtgebouw Sports Centerin the Netherlands.
| Dec 18, 2014
In response to ultra-open and uber-collaborative office environments
Susan Cain’s bestselling 2012 book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking" has made an impact on how we understand our current workforce, recognizing that at least one-third of the people we work with are introverts, writes SRG Partnership's Susan Gust.
| Dec 17, 2014
USGBC announces 2014 Best of Green Schools honorees
Houston's Monarch School was named the K-12 school of the year, and Western Michigan University was honored as the top higher-ed institution, based on environmental programs and education efforts.
| Dec 17, 2014
ULI report looks at growing appeal of micro unit apartments
New research from the Urban Land Institute suggests that micro units have staying power as a housing type that appeals to urban dwellers in high-cost markets who are willing to trade space for improved affordability and proximity to downtown neighborhoods.
| Dec 17, 2014
11 predictions for high-rise construction in 2015
In its annual forecast, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat predicts that 2015 will be the "Year of the Woodscraper," and that New York’s troubled B2 modular high-rise project will get back on track.
| Dec 17, 2014
Demand softens, but outlook for Architecture Billings Index remains positive
The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for November was 50.9, down from a mark of 53.7 in October. Despite the drop, the ABI continued its seven-month run of positive scores (above 50).
Sponsored | | Dec 16, 2014
Quadcopters save project team $15K in warranty work
On a recent trip to see what technology Todd Wynne and the rest of the team at Rogers-O’Brien Construction have been tinkering with, I had a chance to experience firsthand which new hardware innovations will one day be applied in the AEC space.
| Dec 16, 2014
Architect Eli Attia sues Google over tall building technology
Attia and tech company Max Sound Corp. have brought a lawsuit against Google because of Flux, a Google X-developed startup launched in 2014. Flux creates software to design environmentally-friendly buildings in a cost-effective way.
