LB Manchester: 10 years led by women

Ten years ago, I had my first experience of the architectural profession. It was a two-week work experience placement, in a large commercial practice. On my first day, I was dropped off by car, after wolfing a bacon roll to join an office of 50 male architectural staff and 2 female receptionists.

Today, I cycle into our Manchester studio, have a pastry and some fruit and join a studio of 21 people, with a split of 12 women and 9 men. We work in studio, flexibly and closely linked with our larger London studio, of which 56% are women. Attitudes have changed, my place of work has changed, I have changed and so the feeling I have when I sit down to draw is now one of ease. Today, I sit next to a hugely talented bunch, who are also – and not coincidentally – pretty representative to the world outside of our studio window. Progress to be celebrated!

In the Manchester studio we are not only 57% women, but we are also led by women. Director, Victoria Turner and Senior Associate, Gillian Harrison started the Manchester studio in 2013 and continue to lead 10 years later. The success of the practice over the last decade is pretty concrete evidence that we are led by competent and deserving architects, but to have the two most senior staff in our studio as women is no small feat and certainly not one to quickly glance over.

The RIBA Close the Gap guidance, highlights three of the main challenges to improving gender equality in practice as: recruitment, progression and retention. This illustration follows these three cues to track the journey of women in architecture from the birth of Levitt Bernstein in 1968, through to the birth of the Manchester studio in 2013 and up to our celebration of the 10th anniversary today in 2023.

1968 - Recruitment and the early years of LB:

The Close the Gap guidance evidences substantial improvement to the recruitment of women in architecture since LB was founded in 1968. From the early years of LB there have been numerous significant milestones for women in architecture. It is easy to forget that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, which saw it become illegal to formally discriminate against women in the workplace is part of our recent history. In the 70s, a key and much-admired figure in LB history joined the practice. Tish Pearson was the first female architect at LB; widely considered a true ‘force of nature’ and a mainstay here for 30+ years. Since then, the industry has really picked up pace, seeing a huge uptake of women studying architecture at university and feeding into practice. This progress, and the strong example set by Tish, bore fruit at Levitt Bernstein, with the promotion our first two fabulous female directors, Irene Craik and Jo McCafferty in 2002 and 2006.

2013 - Progression and the birth of the Manchester Studio:

In 2013, the Manchester studio was born. Victoria Turner led with first employee, Gillian Harrison. By 2013, the gender balance of those beginning their architectural studies at university had come close to the 50% mark. Recruitment had really got going and while progression of women was rocketing at LB and across many Manchester based studios- a critical statistic was brought to the fore. In 2019, the ARB reported that only 29% of qualified architects (29% Equal – Podcast – Podtail) in the UK identify as women. Progression, to the point of full qualification was and is a point of industry wide concern. To put it simply, the industry must work to address the gap between the 54% of women entering at university, to the 29% reaching full qualification.

2023 - Retention and Manchester10:

Today, we celebrate 10 years of Manchester. The studio has grown from two to the twenties, with many project successes along the way. Last year, Victoria Turner was promoted to Director, bringing our LB board to a 50/50 gender balance. A truly wonderful milestone. Yet again, today, the most recent RIBA report marked that only 20% of senior staff working in the architectural profession in the UK identify as women. There are many obstacles preventing the progression of women and resultant retention of women in the industry– reflected in the current 16% gender pay gap industry wide. As a practice and as an industry, we must keep moving forwards, together, to dismantle this.

So, while there is still much to be done – we take a minute to congratulate our women leaders. What a precedent to set for women in architecture and our aspiring architects at Levitt Bernstein. I can’t wait to see how the next ten years will look!