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The problem is not so much bringing women into the profession as keeping them there. Earnings as an architect are low relative to childcare costs. Hours are long and flexibility required, meaning that afterschool clubs cannot cater. Whilst men traditionally rely on their wives to be at home with the children while they muddle through into the small hours, many women are forced to be part-time and/or self-employed to generate the required flexibility to manage childcare costs and avoid paying to work. Having started in a class of 50% women, all of whom qualified and most of whom worked as architects until they had children, many of my peers have simply given up for better paid careers. Many have left construction altogether.
Assistance from the RIBA would be welcome both in working to increase architectural earnings through perceived value to clients at the lower end and in managing childcare costs which come from post-tax income. This is particularly the case for the many of us who are now self-employed and not therefore eligible for childcare tax credits and other benefits that larger companies may (but in my experience usually don't) offer employees. Unfortunately RIBA membership is often one of the first costs to be cut.

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