Women’s Leadership Seminar

Betsy Williamson and Shirley Blumberg, partner at KPMB Architects, have recently established WIA Toronto, a leadership network focusing on the issues of women in architecture. The Missing 32% Project, published in Architecture Magazine in October 2014, notes that 42 percent of architecture graduates are female, but the number of licensed female practitioners and senior leaders in the profession hovers between only 15 and 18 percent.

In order to initiate change, Betsy and Shirley have organized Women’s Leadership Seminars at the architecture schools in Toronto. Architects who have established their own practices or have risen to leadership positions in large firms will present their work and practices, then in one-on-one sessions, take small focus groups on office tours and through projects.

These events are envisioned as a way promote discussion between young women coming up in the profession and those of us who have established a presence.