anotHER VIEWture

The prize was modelled after the French award for women architects (“prix des femmes architects de l’ARHVA”), made to honour and highlight the role of women in the building industry. Background is that the number of women working in architecture and civil engineering is still strikingly small in many countries and leading positions are still mostly dominated by men.

The many issues faced by female architects and civil engineers are very often overlooked, which is why the “YesWePlan!” project was originally brought to life. Based on the collection of data from many European countries, concrete measures and further recommendations for training institutions, professional organisations and employers were developed.

The participating institutions, especially chambers and universities from Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia and Spain, presented the results of the project in the Compendium 4 in 1 in March 2022 with a final event in Vienna, at which the Presidents of the Architects Council of Europe (Ruth Schagemann), the European Chamber of Civil Engineers (Andreas Brandner) and the European Council of Engineering Chambers (Klaus Thürriedl) discussed the results as well as necessary steps for their implementation.

As best practice example for highlighting the contribution of women to the building industry, the French and now in effect the Austrian award are very important. Similar to the French counterpart, the Austrian prize aims to bring the many women in architecture and engineering into the spotlight, bring awareness to the advancements made by women in technical professions and create opportunities and role models for empowerment of women in these fields.