Why should women be included in the workforce?

It is only being realistic to accept that nothing becomes truly acceptable, unless it can be shown to be of some benefit; and in this commercially-driven, capitalist world, benefit too often has to be quantified in economic dividends.

So, if one is asking that there be a higher inclusion of female participants in the workforce, one has to understand that one can ask, but if one will have a snowball’s chance in hell of seeing this change, one has to establish the financial prudence of such inclusiveness; not just to the employer (although, there sure has to be benefit for the employer, seeing as the employer is the one of the duo who has the capital to get business going in the first place), but also the employees (even with the advent of artificial intelligence, human capital is still the driving force of a large portion of the economy).

So what really is the benefit of having a mixed workforce?

Well, two heads are better than one! To put that into context, since pretty much every business services both genders, it never hurts to juxtapose the different perspectives both men and women can bring into service. For example; in the rest of the world, one finds women either conspicuously absent or grossly underrepresented in architectural classrooms, in America however, even though women constitute about half the architectural graduates, women only make up a mere 15% of the corporate architectural workforce; the result of this is a largely one-track-minded approach to design, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture reported that organizations having a healthy mix of men and women employees demonstrated a consistent 15% profit over male-dominant companies. Interestingly enough, this marked difference is evident in pretty much all other science-related sectors; inclusion translates to growth!

Truth is, the world rewards innovation. Equal (or at the very worst, decent) representation of women in the workplace is quite beneficial, both within and outside the architectural design sphere. It allows for forward-thinking conversations. Even as women and men are fundamentally equal, there is no doubt women take a different approach to problem-solving than men. Sometimes, this difference shows up in higher attention to detail, or a fuller consciousness of impact of environmental impact; either way, variety is the spice of life, and this is what all-inclusion offers.

To cap it all, fuller representation of women in areas related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematical pursuits, offers a tangible edge. It is not enough to preach equality on the pedestal of pity, or advocate for inclusion merely as a trend that will inevitably die out; rather, it suffices to pitch the economic viability of diversifying the workforce, the numbers simply do not lie; there’s higher profits to be made.