Building a More Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Profession

AIA Dallas has introduced an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Task Force as part of the vision of 2020 president Maria Gomez, AIA. The goal of the task force is to be a resource for members and firms to learn more about EDI as it relates to individuals, to firms, and to the profession of architecture. It will provide direction based on AIA National’s Guides for Equitable Practice, with an emphasis on issues affecting the Dallas area. Throughout 2020, the task force will hold panel discussions, issue a survey, and create an online resource center in an attempt to broaden equity, diversity, and inclusion to create a stronger profession.

Led by Alex Quintanilla, AIA and Shahad Sadeq, AIA, the EDI Task Force has done extensive research and curated a list of applicable guides and studies around the nation to create this repository. But we need your help to keep this collection up to date and relevant, please contact us if you come across resources to be included and shared with our peers.

Goal: To provide a central repository of resources for individuals and firms of AIA Dallas that can be accessed at any time for self-teaching or research.

Resources for Individuals

• AIA National Guides – AIA national provides nine individual guides toward equitable practice 
• Iowa Women in Architecture – A set of best practice recommendations to support the development and implementation of policies that address work-life balance and career development challenges
• AIA Colorado: The Diversity Pipeline: Don’t Mind the Gap, Change the Gap – A discussion between Stakeholder in academia, nonprofits and HR Representatives to assess colorado’s pipeline. the discussion yielded ways one can contribute and create sustaining a more equitable practice
• AIA SF 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey – A comprehensive survey that generated national data detailing current positions and experiences of architecture graduates
• AIA KC EIA Survey – An encompassing survey of the Kansas city metro area of architecture graduate experience and positions
• AIA LA Practice Guides – A summary of guides for a more equitable practice
• AIA Dallas Networks –
  Latinos in Architecture (LiA)
  Women in Architecture (WiA)
  LGBTQIA+ Alliance
• Other Partners
  NOMA

Resources for Firms

• AIA National Guides  – Nine individual guides toward equitable practice
• Leadership resources – Chapters across the nation initiated and implemented diverse leadership programs
• Practice Management – Resources to support firms and individuals on aspects of Firm management
• AIA SF 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey  – A comprehensive survey that generated national data detailing current positions and experiences of architecture graduates.
• AIA KC EIA Survey – An encompassing survey of the Kansas City metro area of architecture graduate experience and positions.
• AIA LA Practice Guides – A summary of guides for a more equitable practice

Other Relevant Resources

• African American Inequality in the US – A case Study by the Harvard Business School on African Americaninequality in the US spanning 400 years
• Allyship at Work – Survey findings on varying perceptions of allyship amongst white and BIPOC staff.
• Combating Harassment in the Architecture Profession – recommendation by the AIA
• Directory of African American Architects – maintained by NOMA, a listing of licensed black architects in the US
• Diversity is High priority, now what? – Concrete steps recommneded by diversity experts and corporate professionals to go from talk to action
• Employee Benefits  – How your firm can attract and retain talent with a robust employee benefits program
• How to be AntiRacist – Interview with the the bestselling author and director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
• Scholarships – AD EX Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants and Architecture Foundation Scholarships
• Video Resource: How to build trust through conversation – How to initiate meaningful conversation and create comfortable trusting environment. Video provides tools to help gain the foundation toward building strong foundation for relationship building and expanding business.
• Video Resource: The power of diffcult conversations – How to escape the echo chambers and learn from contrasting view points and discussions. 

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