get DEEP Encouraging Diverse, Equitable Employment and Practice in Architecture in the ACT getDEEP is produced by the Diverse Equitable Employment and Practice (DEEP) task-force, Australian Institute of Architects, ACT Chapter. getDEEP was forged in collaboration; Sarah Lebner [co-chair] Duncan Hall [co-chair] Sander de Vries [Former National Gender Equity Committee ACT Representative] Rob Henry [Immediate Past ACT Chapter President] With generous contributions; Jesus Garcia Quintero Sander de Vries Cassandra Keller Jenny Edwards Alanna King Rob Henry Hannah Jean Cadan Bronwen Jones Shannon Battisson Graphic design; Rachel Clements Chloe Yin Published; Australian Institute of Architects, ACT Chapter getDEEP Launch sponsor: Disclaimer getDEEP is offered as an introduction and overview only. Individuals and practices should seek advice regarding employment and human resources policy and particular situations from their legal, HR or other business adviser as appropriate. Copyright © 2018, getDEEP, Australian Institute of Architects. You are permitted to download, display, print and reproduce this material in an unaltered form only for your personal, non-commercial use or for use within your organisation. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Working to make the architectural profession more equitable. DEEP task-force getDEEP is intended as an introduction to some of the resources, research and expertise available on issues of equitable practice. Foremost: Parlour and The Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice Also: AIA HR+ AIA Gender Equity Committee The Fair Work Ombudsman The Human Rights Commission getDEEP would like to thank and acknowledge the work of these bodies and encourage readers to engage further with their excellent resources. Hello, and welcome to DEEP. DEEP stands for Diverse Equitable Employment and Practice. We’re a task-force, based in the ACT, and part of the local Institute of Architects chapter. We call ourselves a task-force because, unlike a committee, we exist purely as an umbrella for individuals to run projects that align with our cause. This is our first project. The getDEEP booklet aims to take the extensive work already done by groups such as Parlour and the Institute’s National Gender Equity Committee, and present it to local practices and employees in a useful format to encourage engagement with the material. Why? This booklet is full of Parlour Our industry has a reputation for being inequitable: references - + Our profession is failing to retain its female members; their Guides Parlour’s research shows that while nearly 45% of us toGill Equitable are women in the 20-24 year old category, this falls Practice steadily to around 10% in the 50-54 year old group provide + Architects are too frequently paid low, even illegal, strategies wages; The Association of Consulting Architect’s last to help you year reported that 17% of surveyed firms reported identify and salaries below the Fair Work Commission’s Federal address Industrial Awards inequity and + At the same time, we work record levels of overtime; bias across the 2011 census reports that 39% of us work more than 11 areas 41 hours a week within your + We have a significant industry gender pay gap; Parlour workplace. reports that even straight out of University, a 6% pay gap between genders is evident (this quickly climbs to 8%-17% through later years) For an industry that prides itself on problem solving, progressive thinking, and considers itself expert in improving quality of life, we have a lot to answer for if we look in the mirror. We can do better. BE ACCOUNTABLE Thank you for choosing to engage with this booklet. The following pages include local stories, simple templates and activities that we hope will help local firms to engage with this important issue and seek ways to improve their own practice. Starting is simple - signing into this booklet is your first step to committing to improving equity in our profession. PRACTICE NAME WHO’S RESPONSIBLE (the person who takes responsibility for recruitment, workplace conditions, performance reviews and office culture) ASSISTING STAFF MEMBER/S If applicable, nominate a staff member with time to assist in maintaining this review TODAY’S DATE GOALS 1. After working through this booklet we encourage you to set three goals for your practice to work towards over the next six months 2. 3. Yes, there’s an issue. Inequality in employment within architecture is persistent, complex and takes many forms. Gill Mathewson’s report The numbers in a nutshell: Women in Architecture in Australia is the result of extensive research into gender inequity in Australian architectural practice and education. The report provides some stark reminders that we have a long way to go in achieving equitable employment in our industry: + Women leave the profession at a far higher rate than men + While the number of women graduating has rapidly increased since the 1990s, women remain clustered in the lower ranks of the profession + A pay gap emerges immediately on graduation, and increases as the years progress + 49% of women within the profession remain unregistered compared to 28% of men¹ ¹ Gill Matthewson, The Numbers in a Nutshell, 2017 Inequality in architecture is not limited to gender; discrimination on the basis of race, religion, country of origin, You may be able sexual orientation and gender identity are also possible. The think of more ways AACA’s Industry Profile notes that as of the 2011 census, to reflect on potential only seven registered architects in Australia identified as imbalance or indigenous. That’s 0.002%, compared with population parity discrimination in your of nearly 3%. team. The Parlour Guides provide advice on avoiding discriminatory This exercise will practices. But first, take a look at the make-up of your current help you to identify workforce to see where any biases and inequalities may be areas where there is occurring. inequity or disparity. Bias is very often not deliberate or conscious, but the result of Once identified, the systemic and cultural habits and norms. The Parlour Guides Parlour Guides can note that bias and inequity may manifest in: help you to address them, by providing advice on policies, + Recruitment processes procedures and other + Pay inequity, including inequity between full time and part strategies to help time staff and access to bonuses or performance pay make your workplace + Opportunities for career progression and professional more equitable development Parlour + Opportunities for flexible work, including balancing Guide No. 4 family and personal and work commitments Flexibility Let’s reflect upon staff composition within your workplace. Does this composition reflect the practice’s aspirations and the diversity in our community more broadly? Bias is often not immediately obvious and it may take a numerical approach to see it where it exists; it may be worth jotting down some notes to see how your practice’s numbers stack up. What’s the overall gender balance within your practice? Which sections of our community are represented in the senior staff of your practice? Who has been promoted recently? Who hasn’t received a promotion or pay rise in some time? What proportion of your staff has caring responsibilities? What is the gender balance in this group? Do any of your staff work flexibly, from home or part time? Male or female? How many of your staff are registered? What proportion are male/female/Non-English speaking background etc.? RECRUITMENTp1 PAY INEQUITYp7 FLEXIBILITY + BALANCEp15 CAREER PROGRESSIONp23 RECRUITMENT Recruitment is a great place to start in establishing an equitable workplace. Research has shown that gender exerts a clear bias on how applications are assessed¹. It has also been shown that male and female applicants represent themselves differently, with men tending to overstate their experience and women more likely to under-sell themselves². It is crucial to establish effective processes for equitable recruitment - not only to improve equity in the profession, but also to ensure you hire the best person for the job. HR+ provides detailed guides on planning the recruitment process, effective advertising and candidate selection, as well as job description templates. The Human Rights Commission has compiled the excellent A Step by Step Guide to Preventing Discrimination in Recruitment. Parlour Guide No. 5 provides guidelines to ensuring that your recruitment process casts the broadest net possible and makes the most accurate and bias- free assessment possible of candidates. The Fair Work Ombudsman provides a useful Guide to Hiring New Employees, which provides a background of the legal obligations in hiring, as well as fair hiring processes. 1 Jesus Garcia Quintero on employing interna- [Formerly Tait Network] tional staff members Jesus is a young architect from Venezuela. With seven years of experience, across three different countries, he came to Australia as a Permanent Resident through the Skilled Migration Program. Jesus understands that immigrants are often viewed with caution in our industry, but his own experiences encourage us to rethink that view. What are the advantages of coming through the Skilled Migrant Program (SMP)? To participate in the SMP, and succeed, you MUST have all your paperwork, including academic qualifications, skills assessments by the ACAA and official translations, all clear and done in advance before even thinking about leaving your home town. This lengthy (often years) certification process proves your English capabilities and professional qualifications, as assessed by a trusted Australian Institution. Having all my paperwork in order was reassuring for potential employers, and helped in obtaining my Academic Equivalence for Registration in Australia. What do you think helped you find employment so easily? I had excellent qualifications to show and could demonstrate CAD proficiency. I was an Honours Degree graduate. I had work experience beyond my local home town, including internationally in two other countries and I had worked for known transnational companies.