The physical and idealism of architecture through women’s lenses. Your path and finances.

In my continuing series of articles celebrating International Women’s Month, I have taken the opportunity to speak with women in male-dominated fields to discuss the challenges they have faced on the road to success, both educationally and professionally, and how they are planning for their futures. One of these women is Maria, an architect, who is married with three children. She currently owns her own company in partnership with her husband. Giving back to the community is very important to her and that’s why she chairs the TSA (Toronto Society of Architect). She joined the organization because she was looking for collegiality, a forum for discussion with the belief that architecture has the capacity to change the world. She has also mentored several women who are looking at joining the architectural field. Now recognized as a leader on her construction sites and is treated with the respect due her position, her path had hurdles she had to face before reaching this point.

Originally expecting a career in medicine, a trip to Europe in high school influenced Maria’s decision to pursue architecture. She felt it provided a bridge between the left and right sides of the brain, between the scientific and the creative aspects of our personalities. It’s also one of the few disciplines that has a cultural component built in. Architecture is a particularly gruelling field of study because it is project-based education. Not only do you have to understand the theories and science behind building, you have to be artistically creative, designing and implementing projects for assignments. “A good architect has both skills,” says Maria. “The intuitive, creative spark, but at the same time has the knack for understanding the technical side so you are able to collaborate with your engineers. If you don’t understand their language, you have no control over the building.”

“In A Male Dominated Field, Women Make Up Only 30% of Architects in USA”–08:40 – 3 October, 2017, by AD Editorial Team

Obtaining a degree in architecture is a long, gruelling process, requiring both stamina and perseverance. It is also structured in a way that heavily favours success for men. There is no longer a Bachelor’s in architecture, so you must do your 4-year undergraduate degree in a related field, and then complete a 2 or 3 year Master’s in Architecture. There is a tendency to start thinking about marriage and eventually having children during this time frame.

For men this is usually not a deterrent to continuing their education. For women, however, time may be taken for maternity leave, turning a 6-8 year process into something much longer. Then there is the internship process— that requires at least 2700 plus hours in construction documents, building codes and other different areas, the intention behind this is to ensure that an architect is exposed to different facets of architecture. Having a family would slow a woman’s timeline to complete an internship but would not be likely to impede a man. “Women have been liberated and now we have to liberate the men to have that appreciation for the family structure”, Kathleen Kurtin (OAA Senior Vice President and Treasurer).

“Just three of the world’s 100 biggest architecture firms are headed by women and only two have management teams that are more than 50 per cent female, a survey by Dezeen has revealed.

The survey found that women occupy just 10 per cent of the highest-ranking jobs at the world’s leading architecture firms, while 16 firms have no women at all in senior positions.” —Dezeen

Although she now owns her own practice after years of paying her dues, Maria has also faced sexism, discrimination, and inappropriate behaviour from male colleagues on construction sites. She decided to open her own firm because she felt the challenges women face in larger offices are different from the ones she would face as a business owner. Maria’s husband got licensed under her and they have officially been in business together since 2013. They play off each other’s expertise, with Maria excelling on-site dealing with contractors and the details of building, and her husband being a creative force with his ability to grasp complex geometry. She mostly works with teams of contractors she knows and trusts, so she is respected due to her knowledge and expertise, but if there is a battle to be had, unfortunately she still has to bring her husband to add a dose of testosterone to get the message across.

“I Am Not the Decorator: Female Architects Speak Out” —NYTimes

Maria has goals for her business: she wants to make sure she delivers her projects on budget, but with an element of beauty; she wants to leave her mark on a public building so she can reach a greater audience; and she wants financial freedom. For her, financial freedom means being selective about the type of projects she takes on. She would like to develop projects that have a positive impact, sometimes undertaking pro bono projects. Although she considers her practice successful—all projects end well, her clients are happy, they are busy, and they love what they do—they are a long way from building their desired nest egg. With three children, 2 of them in university, financial freedom seems a long way off.

Maria manages her own finances, is very organized with it, and she and her husband make all their financial decisions together. Below are some of the financial points to take into consideration:

• Establish an emergency fund to provide a cushion in the event of a financial emergency, it is a good idea to have at least a minimum of six months of living expenses set up.
• A Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) to grow your short term investments tax free or a high interest savings account.
• As both Maria and her spouse are lecturers at the university, building a financial plan would help in understanding the cash flow of their personal finances and the additional income can be used towards funding their retirement plans.
• Create buy-sell agreements for their partnership to ensure shares are transferred in an organized manner in the event of retirement or disagreement within the partnership.
• Have a will written or ensure your written will is up to date to ensure their estate is divided according to their wishes
• Consider charitable giving for tax benefits once they have built their cash flow and are at a higher income tax bracket.

Being organized in their finances, communicating, having transparency and making decisions together are good first steps towards financial clarity for Maria and her family.

It is important to review your financial snapshot regularly, so adjustments can be made as situations and needs change. This is where finding and working with the right Financial Planner can help. A Financial Planner will look at your entire picture, in terms of savings, retirement planning, taxes, and estate planning, and help you develop a plan you can work with so you can achieve your vision and financial freedom on your terms.

For a chat regarding your financial roadmap, please contact me, and look out for my blog post on Dr. Thomas in the next few weeks

This article is intended to provide general information and for discussion purposes only. Accordingly, the information in this article is not intended to constitute accounting, tax, legal, investment, consulting or other professional advice or services. Please consult a qualified professional advisor before making any decision or taking action that might affect your personal finances or business.