Q&A

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Q: Should women consider architecture as a career?

A: Women should consider architecture as a career as long as they believe in what they do and continue to believe in what they do even when encountering difficulties.  You need to prepare to face things like gender discrimination, unemployment, and busy schedule. If you are confident enough that you can overcome obstacles, then architecture is for you.  Architecture is a tough profession, one should think carefully before going into this major.

Q: How should women balance motherhood and career?

A: According to Zaha Hadid, female architect, there are so much to do, (work, manage the house, look after the children) and it is difficult for women to do everything.  Instead, she believes teamwork is important, and you have to learn to trust other people to work on your vision.  For example, Hadid said she can't take credit for her projects alone - many people in my office have contributed to them.  There’s only so much you can do, but with teamwork, things can be manageable.                    

Q: What kinds of support there should be for women in architecture?  

A:  First of all, women should be confident and proud of themselves for being the field of architecture because if you do not believe in what you do,  why should other people believe your credibility?  Secondly. I think there should be more support and encouragement for women to go in architecture because this profession is clearly biased, so the there should be more female in the field to refuse this stereotype.  The support and encouragement should come from family members and friends because they are the closest people and their recognition is important and most influential.  

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/14/zaha-hadid-woman-arab-double-edged-sword