This International Women’s Day, we took the opportunity to think about what the day means to us all at Arcadia. And with the theme #EachforEqual, it was important that the men did this too, because we need the support of men to help us create a gender equal world.
Duyen Nguyen – Associate – Melbourne studio
The significance of International Women’s Day to me is ever being refined through my personal experiences and observations of everyday gender biases, which are magnified by listening to similar experiences from others.
As an ethnic minority female in Australia, I have been subject to several forms of bias, the most notable being the double discrimination bias as which is closely followed by the likability and performance biases. It is worth noting that often, these biases are carried out by both females and males alike, unconsciously and without malicious intent but even so, that does not make it OK.
So for 2020, striving toward a world where we are #eachforequal, let’s spread the word and call out biases when you see them. I urge us all to run a simple check for gender biases before we act – would our actions, words and observations still be valid if the genders were reversed?
Katie Leung – Senior Landscape Architect – Sydney
We all need to be champions for gender equality and call it out when we see inequality. We need to share our experiences with others so they are forewarned of the juggle it is to be a working parent. We need to model what equality is. We need to see the advantages of part time professionals and the business opportunities it presents.
Kaylie Salvatori – Landscape Architect – Sydney
In this week of reflection, I’m happy to be a part of an office that has good representation of women, and is invested in elevating my landscape sisters to positions of leadership. Last month, Arcadia welcomed a new female Associate to lead our entirely female Melbourne office, and I am excited to see us continue to progress in this direction. However, whilst I’m happy in my workplace bubble, future decisions coupled with the daily news cycle reminds me of just how far we still have to go, of how much I still need feminism.
Equality in the workplace is one of those things that many take as granted. Unlike domestic violence, sexual harrassment and institutionalised sexism, inequality in the workplace is less confronting, less overt and seemingly subjective. While we have good representation in our industry, women are under-represented at leadership levels. Many of us pause our promising careers to have a family, something rarely (if ever) expected of men. Upon returning to the workplace, we may see our male counterparts have arisen to a position of leadership – and also managed to start a family while they’re at it. But is it fair to expect men to carry the burden of career performance? What if they want to have a bigger role in their child’s daily life? When men choose to be the primary parental carer, stay-at-home-dads are often met with the assumption that their career was somehow less successful than hers. The expectation is damaging to us all and prohibits equitable distribution of gender in leadership roles.
Valerie Osterman – Senior Landscape Architect – Sydney
In respect of all the wonderful things that have been achieved for women around the world and all the unachieved goals that still need to be worked on with the help of a strong, brilliant, diverse, colourful, open minded, motivated and united society…
I am also being reminded on IWD of all the wonderful men that are in my life and support me, love me, give me strength, show me the right direction, make me laugh, help me find my strengths, motivate me to be bolder and braver, carry my bags, explain me the engine of my bike, initiate great conversations, make me spontaneous and so much more. We are ALL different, that’s what unites us and makes us strong.
Michelle Thomas Zacharias – Landscape Architect – Melbourne
Equality begins at home. We often come across women who put a break to their careers simply because there is no one to lend them a helping hand when it comes to managing works at home. As a career-driven woman myself, I should be able to work overtime, go for work trips or even devote more time to my career without having to get worked up about chores that most often are waiting to be tended by me because I am a woman. And, there are men out there who would love to become “house-husbands” but choose to stay quite simply out of the fear of being ridiculed upon. What are these conventions based on? When we say things like “Follow your heart” and “Do what you want to do”, shouldn’t they NOT actually have any “conditions applied “on them?
Pip Meachin – Marketing Manager – Sydney
Flexibility in the workplace is a beautiful thing…. but why is it so focused at women? I’d love to see more men working part-time. That way all those talented women who have risen so high in their career in their 20s and 30s can maintain that upward trajectory and get that seat at the board table. I think the next generation are going to be better at this – I hope so because it kills me when I think of some of the wasted brain power among the mums that I know. And for a business, what a cost to lose all that training and talent.
Mike Barnett – Principal
Women’s Day means a great deal to me. As the father of a seven year old girl I constantly relate and observe the way the world seems to work with her future in mind.
Growing up as one of 3 boys, everything had to be fair. My attitude in business is the same. I aim to inspire our team to make things right, to identify opportunities to make everyone’s careers more fulfilling and provide the pathways to thrive. Supporting our women is integral to this philosophy and I’m proud to be part of an organisation, and profession, that is leading the way in inclusion and equality. I’m glad there is a day to celebrate this but it really is a daily attitude and approach.
Nathan Clausen – Principal – Queensland
I am definitely a strong believer in equality in the workforce and from a firsthand experience I see how much women juggle in trying to manage kids and a job.
Having three women in my family I would love to see more opportunities and flexibility in the future to enable everyone to be able to balance the pressures of life and work that we all deal with.
Jason Taylor – Associate – Queensland
In a nutshell, there are a lot of Gender-Difference Myths circulating that are frankly laughable (Mars/Venus contrast), and there is consistent evidence that males and females are basically more alike than not. The Gender-Difference Myth if anything perpetuates misunderstanding and inequality.
With that understanding however, I think women do bring something inimitable to the design table. So while I cannot isolate the uniqueness of female creativeness, I do know I would not want to live in a world designed solely by the male half of our species.
