AIA Women’s Leadership Summit Marks 15th Anniversary with Milestones: Three Years of National Female Leadership and Record Female Membership

CHICAGO – October 8, 2024 – The American Institute of Architects (AIA) kicks off its 2024 Women’s Leadership Summit (WLS) today, with three days of networking and education for women in design and construction. The summit aims to advance equality and gender parity in the industry. The 2024 theme, "Building Resilience," challenges traditional thinking to foster positive change by exploring resilience, adaptability in a constantly shifting landscape, and perseverance during difficult times.

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the first WLS gathering, over 1,000 women attendees will commemorate a significant milestone: for the first time, women make up more than one-fourth—26.8 percent—of AIA’s total membership. This year also marks the second of three consecutive years with women serving as AIA national leaders, another first in the organization’s history.

“AIA’s membership demographics are shifting,” said AIA President Kimberly N. Dowdell, AIA, NOMAC. “We are seeing more women and people of color join our ranks as we approach our goal of reaching 100,000 members this year. Our industry has made some progress in terms of inclusion, but we understand that we have a long way to go. This is why one of the AIA’s key strategic goals alongside climate action for human and ecological health is racial, ethnic and gender equity. I’m proud of the work AIA is doing to move the needle, but it is clear that we must do more.”

According to AIA’s 2023 Membership Demographics report, released in 2024, AIA reached a historic membership high of 98,743 members at the end of last year. Women now account for 26.8 percent of the total membership. The number of female licensed architects is 27 percent, according to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) By the Numbers 2024 report. Over 40 percent of the Associate Architects membership category are now women, indicating a strong potential pipeline of future licensed professionals. This correlates with NCARB’s reports that 46 percent of their licensure population were women, an increase over the past five years.

For the first time, women Associate members achieved near parity with their male counterparts in obtaining their license—49.9 percent in 2023. Comparatively, NCARB reported that 44 percent of those who completed the Architect Registration Exam (ARE) in 2022 were women. Representation of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups also increased, growing from 12.2 percent in 2013 to 17.9 percent in 2023.

"Women in leadership roles bring transformative perspectives that drive innovation and progress in architecture,” said AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE. “It’s essential to ensure that their voices are heard and their contributions are valued at every level. We created the “Stop the Clock” campaign, because research showed that the 5-year time limit for taking the Architecture Registration Exams disproportionately impacted women and people of color. By removing barriers to entry, we can create a more equitable and inclusive profession where women can thrive and lead."

AIA’s Growing Gender Diversity
AIA’s membership has become more gender-diverse over time, thanks in part to key developments in the professional pipeline. In 2023, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) reported that women made up slightly more than half of enrolled students in accredited architecture programs. In the same year, NCARB noted that women represented 44 percent of those completing the ARE and 45 percent of those completing the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), up from 34 percent and 36 percent, respectively, in 2012.

Women in AIA Leadership
In a historic first for AIA, three consecutive years of national female leadership are underway, with 2023 President Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA; 2024 President Kimberly N. Dowdell, AIA; and 2025 President-Elect Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA. Dowdell is the first Black female president and the first millennial president in AIA’s history. Woods, the organization’s second-ever female CEO, is also the first Black woman to hold the position in its 167-year history. These milestones signal AIA’s effort to move the organization into a more inclusive environment.

AIA continues to promote opportunities for women in the form of leadership, from the national board members and at local chapter levels. More than one-third of AIA’s chapter leadership is female.

Supporting Women of Color in Architecture
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that women comprised 31 percent of architects in 2023, an all-time high, compared to 29.8 percent in 2022. However, representation of women of color remains a challenge. According to NCARB, the percentage of licensed Black or African American female architects has remained stagnant at just 0.4 percent since 2018. Despite these figures, women of every racial and ethnic group represent a higher proportion within AIA’s membership than in the general profession, reflecting the organization’s efforts to create a more inclusive community.

To further the progress of women leaders in architecture, AIA launched the Next to Lead program, a nine-month leadership development initiative for racially and ethnically diverse women in architecture aspiring to AIA leadership roles. The program has graduated over 60 women, and the 2024 cohort of 20 participants will attend their first summit as part of the program. Past graduates of the program, such as Sophia Tarkhan, AIA, NOMA, who became President of AIA Georgia in 2024, and Melania Ray, AIA, who elevated to Baltimore NOMA Chapter President and now serves on the Equity and Future of Architecture Committee, exemplify the transformative impact of the program.

On Building Resilience 
AIA WLS leaders and sessions will encourage participants to lean in, share and ask how can we safeguard society’s health, safety, and welfare amid individual struggles? Questions will be posed about where our power lies and are we identifying our own blind spots and biases? How does intersectionality reveal the skills needed for impactful change?

Conference content is organized around the themes of: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion in Practice & the Workplace; Leadership & Community Resilience; Business & Organizational Operations & Systems; Design Excellence & Equity in the Built Environment; and Personal, Professional, & Social Resilience in Practice.

WLS speakers and event highlights include:

●    Kimberlé Crenshaw: African American Policy Forum Co-founder and executive director
●    Sumayya Vally: Counterspace founder and principal
●    Aileen Fuchs: National Building Museum president & executive director
●    Ciere Boatright: Chicago Department of Planning and Development commissioner
●    Kimberly N. Dowdell, AIA, NOMAC: The American Institute of Architects 2024 president; director of Strategic Relationships at HOK
●    Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE: AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer
●    Open Houses with Studio Gang & Chicago Architecture Center

To view the full schedule and get more information about the WLS visit: https://events.aia.org/s/lt-event?id=a1YQo000000yIZx#/About-WLS

ABOUT AIA Women’s Leadership Summit:  
AIA WLS, being held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, is the largest event focused on women in design and construction. Attendees will gain actionable insights to build their career and create professional opportunities. This summit brings together women from all corners of the industry--from experienced professionals to recent graduates--for two days of innovative ideas and fearless conversations that will support and empower women on their leadership journeys in design and construction. The first Women’s Leadership Summit was held in 2009 in Chicago. The summits were not held every year until 2022 when CEO Woods made them an annual event.