Newsletter | Jan/Feb 2016
Volume 44:1
If you would like to see corrections to this newsletter or to submit articles or suggestions for future newsletters please contact the Newsletter Editor.
In this issue: | Note from the Editor - Naomi Horowitz Get to Know a Member in 5 Questions - Hana Mori Böttger What You Can Do to Help Women in Architecture and Design - Naomi Horowitz Official Business - Gloria Kim and Naomi Horowitz Programs for 2016 - Carol Mancke Film Review: Lutah - Naomi Horowitz Membership - Sharon Chio |
Note from the Editorby Naomi Horowitz | Share #1123The Steering Committee has decided to distribute one newsletter by mail each year, in addition to publishing online newsletters every 2 months. This will be the print issue for this year, so look for it in your mailbox in the next 1-2 weeks. Extra copies will also be available at OWA+DP events. |
Get to Know a Member in 5 Questionsby Hana Mori Böttger | Share #1118 |
What You Can Do to Help Women in Architecture and Designby Naomi Horowitz | Share #1117Tell Women’s Stories: The work of women architects is less likely to be recognized and recorded. You may not have the time to write a book or to make a film like Lutah, which members recently viewed. However, there is another medium more approachable to you as a writer and likely to be viewed by many readers: Wikipedia. If you’re already experienced in writing and editing Wikipedia articles, dive right in. Otherwise, some training is recommended. The Association of Women Architects (AWA) in Los Angeles, has recently held a #wikiD writing workshop. We are looking into the possibility of offering something similar here. Let us know if you would like to be involved by emailing our program coordinators. You can find contact information at https://owa-usa.org/steering.php Preserve Your Own legacy: One great way to do this is through the International Archive of Women in Architecture at Virginia Tech. According to their website: “The purpose of the Archive is to document the history of women’s contributions to the built environment by collecting, preserving, and providing access to the records of women’s architectural organizations and the professional papers of women architects, landscape architects, designers, architectural historians and critics, and urban planners.” The IAWA “welcomes materials documenting all generations of women in architecture in order to fill serious gaps in the availability of primary source materials for architectural, women’s, and social history research.” This is especially relevant to our members who are retiring. Give posterity a chance to learn from your work. See https://spec.lib.vt.edu/IAWA/ for more information. Be a Mentor: If you can, join a mentoring program such as the one the OWA co-sponsors with the San Francisco chapter of the AIA. But don’t wait for a formal venue. Mentor young women, or women returning to the workforce, whenever you see an opportunity. Encourage women early in their careers to think strategically about their careers, to actively seek opportunities and advocate for themselves. Help them to recognize their strengths, so they don’t get discouraged. Help them to understand their weaknesses constructively, and find ways to build their skillset. Get Informed About Compensation: It is well known that women’s pay is still not equal to men’s for the same work and same qualifications. It doesn’t help that there is a taboo in our culture against discussing pay. Women also tend to be more reluctant to negotiate our salary. You are in a much better position to be fairly compensated if you know the market rate for your labor. The OWA+DP has ordered a copy of the latest AIA compensation survey, and will be making it available to members at our events. Network and Share Ideas as Broadly as Possible: You never know when you will have a bit of wisdom that will help someone else, or when someone else will offer you a key insight. Be active in the OWA+DP. In this connected world, there are also many organizations near and far that you can connect to digitally. A prime example is Parlour, at archiparlour.org. Get into Positions of Leadership and Be Visible: This serves two purposes. First of all, we all need role models. The more opportunity we have to see people we can relate to leading and doing important work, the better we can imagine pursuing a similar path and achieving similar things. Secondly, being a leader puts you in a position to make decisions, to set an example of recognizing quality work equally, regardless of the gender of the worker. So if you have any inclination, seek out opportunities to teach, lead a firm, serve on awards juries, write about contemporary architecture, or do anything else that shapes the conversation about design. Did we leave anything out? What else can we do to strengthen ourselves individually and collectively as women in architecture and design? Send your comments and ideas for inclusion in future issues of the newsletter. |
Official Businessby Gloria Kim and Naomi Horowitz | Share #1119Annual Business Meeting We thank everyone who took the time to come to the business meeting and help make some big decisions. As usual, the two main items of business were election of Steering Committee members and approval of the budget. The following members were elected to the steering committee: Cynthia Bathgate, Rebecca Friedberg, Carol Mancke, Aziza Zare The following members are continuing their term: Sharon Chio, Naomi Horowitz, Gloria Kim We thank the following members, whose terms have ended, for all their work on behalf of the OWA+DP: Lucia Bogatay, Patty Haight, Allison Kinst, Carolyne Orazi The steering committee presented to the membership an ambitious budget, with funds allocated for a number of new initiatives. In response to debate at the meeting, the budget was revised to be more conservative in a number of categories until priorities have been more clearly set. The visioning retreat, described below, will be a critical opportunity to attain this focus. Visioning Retreat The Steering Committee is currently organizing a retreat titled "Realizing Our Potential" in early March for current and past leadership of the group. We aim to set up specific action items for current and future leaders so we can strengthen our organization and ultimately provide the best possible benefits to our members. The idea of a visioning retreat emerged last year through discussions from the logo pod, steering committee, annual retreat, and recent business meeting. The general membership agreed that an event dedicated to setting long and short term goals to guide leadership would be useful. We are pleased to have Loren Sherman as a special guest who will help lead and facilitate the event. She is organizing a short survey in preparation for this event that you may have seen in your email inbox (If not, look out for it soon!). We highly value all opinions of our membership and hope you will take the time to participate. We anticipate a productive retreat and look forward to sharing our findings with the group. Looking for more details about Steering Committee meetings? Please note that all approved meeting minutes can be viewed by logged-in members on the website at https://owa-usa.org/minutes.php You can also see current names and positions of Steering Committee members at https://owa-usa.org/steering.php |
Programs for 2016by Carol Mancke | Share #1120 |
Film Review: Lutahby Naomi Horowitz | Share #1121 |
Membershipby Sharon Chio | Share #1122Milestones and Achievements We celebrate our members’ personal and professional milestones and achievements. Did you graduate from school? Get licensed? Start your own firm or become partner? Win an award? Get something published or exhibited? Have a baby? Become a U.S. citizen? Retire? Please let us know so we can share the news. Rebecca Friedberg has started teaching at UC Berkeley Extension. Cynthia Bathgate will be traveling to the Philippines to meet her extended family for the first time. We wish them both the best in these new adventures! New Members We welcome these members who joined recently: Fan Pan Junteng Wang Vusumuzi Zwane Rachel Baker Kristina Kotlier Raine Paulson-Andrews Ann Wright Time to Renew Remember, it’s a new year! Please renew your membership if you have not already done so, at https://owa-usa.org/payment.php |
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