Last October, the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF) introduced Cynthia Phifer Kracauer as its new executive director, along with plans for expanding and advancing its global profile.
For those unaware, the BWAF is an organization seeking to change the culture of the building industry to support women, namely through education and research. Founded in 2002 by pioneering female architect Beverly Willis and based in New York City, it focuses on advocating for the advancement of women working in architecture, landscaping, engineering and construction – market sectors where only about 17% of its leaders are women, according to the BWAF.
In light of this past weekend’s Womens’ March across the country and the world, we decided to check in with an A&D group advocating for women’s rights in our own industry; the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation came to mind.
Ms. Kracauer is a good chunk of the way through her first year as executive director of the BWAF. We spoke with her last week about where she sees the foundation going in the future, both in the short term and long term.
Ms. Kracauer seems a perfect match for the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. A former principal at architecture and design firm Swanke Hayden Connell, she more recently served as managing director for the Center for Architecture and the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) New York City chapter. During her tenure at AIA New York Chapter, Ms. Kracauer conceived and launched the NYC architecture and design festival called Archtober, now in its sixth year. She has also served as managing director of Oculus magazine and as a California Emergency Management Agency-certified Disaster Services Worker.
The BWAF’s short-term goals primarily involve taking its existing programs and initiatives and fully realizing them.
“Many of our initiatives are not fully cooked, but wonderfully aspirational and underfunded to begin with,” said Ms. Kracauer.
Many of these initiatives are educational and research-based, coming in the form of scholarly research resources, documentary movies, architectural databases and thought leader programs. The Foundation’s “Pioneering Women in Architecture” initiative is one such resource – a peer-reviewed website featuring scholarly articles about 50 top pioneering women in architecture. The website is still under construction; Ms. Kracauer hopes to complete this and other similar projects.
Ms. Kracauer’s long-term goals for the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation lie in achieving gender equality in the workplace and advocating for concrete policy changes, firm by firm.
While women make up 42% of architecture school grads, they currently represent only 26% of licensed practitioners.
“As women become more advanced, they become less likely to stay in the profession,” says Ms. Kracauer. “At the partner level, 84% are men and 16% are women. And it’s a combination of ingredients that contribute to that.
“I want to help make sure that any woman who wants to reach the higher levels of an organization has access to everything she needs to get there. I believe that the culture is changing for women.”
The BWAF is currently piloting a program called Emerging Leaders, a retreat-like event in seminar format that brings together young professionals and industry leaders to discuss challenges and possible policy changes in the workplace.
Things like changes in performance evaluations ad salary negotiations are top of mind, and there is a strong acknowledgement that these changes only happen when policy changes take place.
“Unconscious bias is something that men have about women and that women have about themselves,” says Ms. Kracauer. “If you don’t have a policy in place at your firm, you’re falling short. We want to educate leaders in our industry about the kind of policies they need in place to mitigate unconscious bias and to make compensation decisions equitable.
“Any advancement in reducing costs will be taken unless it becomes unacceptable to behave that way. Many things in society don’t change until the law changes.”
As part of her announcement back in October, Ms. Kracauer noted that the BWAF’s work presents a unique public extension of her own experience.
“I am thrilled to take on this new challenge,” she said, “in part because it culminates my personal narrative, which started with being one of the earliest women at Princeton in the 1970s, when the only restroom facilities for women were labeled ‘staff.’”
Womens’ rights have indeed come a long way. But the challenges our industry, and most industries, face today are perhaps the most challenging yet – the last end goals that will close and seal the gender gap.
If you’re interested in learning more about and/or getting involved in the work BWAF does, head to their website at bwaf.org.