Mission
Our Mission
Zhanina Boyadzhieva & Juliet Chun (Founders of Girl UNinterrupted Project) Photo Credit: Langer Hsu
Inspired by the current spotlight on women and initiatives by Equity by Design, Beverly Willis Foundation, WAGE Project, and various grassroots organizations, the Girl UNinterrupted project seeks to bridge the gap between young female designers (and designers in general) and leaders in the architecture field. This is 3-phase research project:
1. Designers Data Survey: The survey targets emerging professional designers in the architecture field (0-10 years of experience, female & male) and aims to extract issues that they are currently struggling with while testing any gender differences. The survey includes 40 quantitative and qualitative questions divided in 4 categories: General Information, Self-confidence and Negotiation, Career Growth and Work-Life Balance. The survey was created with the rigorous training and careful guidance of professionals in marketing from around the world. The data is analyzed with the help of professors in economics and marketing in the Boston area and will be available on the project’s website.
2. Conversation Series: The series include interviews with prominent women principals from different generations, size firms and backgrounds. The goal is to understand better their perspectives, challenges and observations on both the design field policies and the emerging professionals.
3. Manual with Action Tips: The manual presents a deep dive into the survey data analysis and conversation series. The manual’s goal is to produce transparency in the architecture field and offer practical tips. It will provide action tips for emerging designers on how to jumpstart careers while also providing tips to leaders on how to tweak office culture to produce an equitable environment, maximize and retain talent.
Impact
The project will impact the profession by bringing transparency to current challenges that emerging designers face and create a bridge between generational perspectives in order to jump start future growth. Our goal is to collectively build a culture of equity in the architecture field where the full potential of all designers can evolve.