Angela Brady, An inspiration
As I am part of my universities Architecture Society, we have lectures each week by a guest speaker and this week it was Angela Brady, ex RIBA president and an absolute inspiration. I am extremely interested in the topic of Architecture and Gender and she addressed all of the issues that are present in our current Architectural age. The woman is eco friendly, independent and stands for no bullshit whatsoever. When asked by one of my arrogant classmates about how women may want to settle down early, she replied with “you won’t be working properly until you’re 45”. Not only did she discuss the gender divide in Architecture but she behaved as a positive female role model. I don’t even particularly want to be an Architect and she made me consider my future careers. It was inspirational to hear a strong woman in the industry, rather than the usuals such as Zaha Hadid who appear to be in it purely for the fame rather than changing the often sexist society that we live in. Brady spoke how us women should be strong and never settle for anything less than we deserve; if a male colleague gets a larger salary then we need to speak up as gender divide cannot be justified by ignorance. Although I don’t currently want to pursue a career as an Architect, I feel that we are the new generation and changes need to be made. Who knows where life will take me but I aim to change the sexism that is present in the Architectural Industry, whether it be through journalism, practice or perhaps teaching. It makes me proud that it is being recognised and the statistics do state that discrimination is evident, but is anything really changing?
It makes me more persistent to make a change in the world in terms of gender divide because I can completely relate to it. When I first started my course I was often talked down to by several guys as they felt their skills were much higher than mine. I can’t use all the tools in the workshop but at least I’m not illiterate.
Lets see where my career goes shall we..