Gender and Architectural Profession in Nigeria: Are Female Architects Up to the Task

Abstract

This paper examined gender and the profession of architecture in Nigeria. It took a cursory look at the malefemale dichotomy in the practice of the architectural profession, specifically on membership, certification, experience, project types and work schedule. Professionally certified architects from the North Central, South east and South Western regions of the countries were sampled by the use of a structured questionnaire. The results showed that female architects made up about a quarter of the total number of architects in Nigeria. It further showed that gender differentiation has significant relationship with the professional experience of the architects. On the other hand, gender has little impact on the professional service rendered by the architects nor in the types of projects participated in. Architectural profession in Nigeria is still strongly male dominated despite the fact that female architects can to a large extent perform same tasks as their male counterparts. This then raises the need for more gender inclusiveness in the training, employment and retention of architects in Nigeria. Keyword: Architects, Architectural profession, Construction industry, Gender