Motherhood or Work?

A growing number of women feel disillusioned that their roles as mothers have impacted negatively on their once promising careers.
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Examining the dilemma faced by women in architecture

Architecture has always been a male-dominated profession; the most prestigious projects, commissions and the highest awards rarely go to women.

The whole construction industry, including engineers, contractors, plumbers and carpenters, are primarily male-dominated fields. Women have been studying architecture in school for years, but those numbers are not reflected in the workforce. Seek out any architecture firm and you rarely find women holding top positions.

Unfortunately, the famous feminist mantra that says ‘you can do it all’, by successfully raising a family and having a successful career, rarely holds true for most women working in this field in the region.
 
In fact, a large majority of women working in this profession suddenly find themselves faced with a predicament around their mid-30s - retain the high-end career and lofty dreams or take a break to raise a family?

Put simply, commitments at home stand in the way of career advancement. Inflexible and unfriendly working hours, low pay, unpaid maternity leave and what seems to be an industry-wide lack of empathy towards family life are some of the prime reasons women opt out of the architecture field. A major problem facing working women in the Middle East is what can be described as a complete lack of social support in childcare and family wellness.

On-site, professionally-run day care centres, in which mothers can feel confident about leaving young children, are completely nonexistent. Likewise, schools let out between 2-3pm and most offices don’t allow mothers flexible working arrangements.

Generally speaking, working hours in the architecture world are unfriendly; they’re divided into two shifts: one in the morning and the other in the evening. Women are rarely allowed to work part-time, which makes it impossible to coordinate their schedules with those of their children.

As a comparison, in India, families generally have a very strong network of family support that are happy and willing to help with childcare. Moreover, it is far easier to arrange for reliable domestic help.

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Sadly, these factors are missing in the UAE as women find it increasingly difficult to manage childcare. With no one at home to supervise, many women are simply afraid to leave toddlers alone with a nanny.

When applying for jobs, the question that seems most important is not one of salary expectations or work experience but when the female candidate plans to have her next child or how the female candidate plans to juggle her career and her family.

The entire interview gets dominated by personal questions as the interviewer tries to grill his way through the private life of the applicant. Too many potential employers fail to appreciate the desire of most women to create some sort of balance between family life and work.

All too often, eyebrows are raised and eyes are rolled with disgust at a woman’s reluctance to work inflexible hours.

Comparisons are made with the male counterparts, citing the long hours they put in at the office. What many individuals don’t recognise is that most men are not loaded with the extra responsibilities of managing the children and running a household.
 
Handling a full-time job and a household requires an extra commitment and a significant amount of extra effort, and while some women may still be willing to go the extra mile, the aforementioned circumstances make it almost impossible for them to succeed.

A number of women who do take a break from their career to raise a family are then forced to question whether they can re-enter the workforce in a meaningful role again.

Even a minor break in one’s career leads to an erosion of confidence in women as several opportunities to develop personal skills and capabilities have long since past.

For beginners, they often start at a lower salary anyway, and time off from work further detracts from their work experience. Moreover, changes in the industry—especially in terms of CAD technology—make it  imperative for female architects to refresh their knowledge on a continuous basis.

While some architecture firms are willing to invest the time to enable employees to enhance their skills, a lot of them think twice before investing in workers who may leave in the face of family commitments or a sudden pregnancy.

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