09/11/2020
RESPONSIBLE ARCHITECTURE IS ALSO ABOUT EQUALITY IN OUR PROFESSION!! The Aarhus School of architecture created the gender equality comity, please SHARE WITH US YOUR EXPERIENCE ABOUT SEXISM IN ARCHITECTURAL FIELD IN DENMARK!!
Til alle der arbejder eller studerer inden for arkitektbranchen i Danmark.
(English below)
Kære alle
Arkitektbranchen adskiller sig ikke fra andre brancher i det at mange har oplevet og til stadighed oplever grænseoverskridende, krænkende, sexistisk adfærd.
Vi ønsker, at synliggøre omfanget af og problemerne med sexistisk adfærd i arkitektbranchen, både på uddannelserne, på arbejdspladserne og inden for branchens organisationer og foreninger.
Vi håber, at du vil hjælpe med at synliggøre problemstillingen ved at tilkendegive om du selv har oplevet eller har været vidne til sexistisk adfærd inden for arkitektbranchen i Danmark.
Du kan bidrage på følgende måder:
Skrive under på at du selv har oplevet sexistisk adfærd eller overværet sexistisk adfærd mod andre ved at sende os en mail med dit fulde navn.
Det er ikke nødvendigt at angive studie- eller arbejdsplads.
og/eller
Dele konkrete, anonymiserede eksempler ved at sende din oplevelse(r) til os.
Du kan se eksempler på andres oplevelser nederst i dette brev.
Underskrift og/eller eksempler sendes til: [email protected]
Efter ca. en uge, søndag d. 8. november (OBS! Ny dato: 15. november!), vil vi samle de foreløbige underskrifter og eksempler sammen og dele dem med relevante medier.
For at undgå, at den enkelte underskriver udsættes for individualisering og/eller kontekstualisering af problemstillingen, vil vi kun offentliggøre navnene, hvis vi har minimum 200 underskrifter.
Sexisme-begrebet defineres i denne kontekst både som oplevelser af seksuel, diskriminerende og/eller kønskrænkende karakter.
Samtidigt er det vigtigt at understrege at det gælder alle køn.
Der har alt for længe været tavshed om sexistisk adfærd i arkitektbranchen. Adfærd som desværre i mange tilfælde er blevet normaliseret og accepteret.
Nu er det på tide at fordre forandring, udfolde omfanget og bidrage til den verserende offentlige diskussion om sexisme, for at kunne kigge fremad.
Vores intention og mål er at fordre uddannelsesinstitutioner, foreninger, organisationer og beslutningstagere i branchen til at igangsætte en fælles handlingsplan for at stoppe sexistisk adfærd inden for arkitektbranchen.
Send gerne denne mail videre til så mange som muligt i dit netværk, som du tænker, det er relevant for.
Tak for din stemme og dit mod!
Bedste hilsener fra initiativgruppen:
Ida Bergström, arkitekt
Christine Bjerke, arkitekt
Emma Elfvik, arkitekt
Heidi Jacobsgaard Schøbel, arkitekt
Kristine Jacobsen, arkitekt
Thea Christine Høeg, arkitekt
Alle henvendelser sendes til: [email protected]
Foreløbige eksempler fra arkitektbranchen:
En blandt os…
…har oplevet at en leder har sagt direkte at man ikke kunne stole på kvindelige medarbejdere fordi de bare tænkte på børn efter en vis alder.
..har til en julefrokost fået stukket en hånd i skridtet af en chef der tidligere på aftenen detaljeret havde underholdt bordet med de seksuelle ting han ville gøre ved hende.
…har oplevet at en lærer holdt hende fast og kyssede hende på halsen til Arkitektskolens julefrokost. Hændelsen resulterede i at hun tog grædende hjem og efterfølgende brugte mange kræfter på at undgå ham på studiet og være bange for at møde ham.
..har oplevet at en sexisme-sag på arbejdspladsen blev fejet af med at vi ikke skulle være så kønsforskrækkede.
…har oplevet at fagforeningen ikke ville gå videre med hendes sexisme-sag i retten, da det “ikke kunne betale sig økonomisk”, selvom hun nok ville vinde sagen.
..har oplevet at en chef fortalte kunden at han havde taget hende med til mødet så de havde “noget pænt at kigge på“.
..har fået at vide af en lærer på Arkitektskolen at den danske arkitektur tradition er tabt, da der er alt for mange kvinder i arkitektfaget nu til dags og kvinder er dårlige arkitekter.
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ENGLISH
To everyone who works or studies in the architectural field in Denmark.
Dear all,
The architectural field does not differ from other fields in that many have experienced and still experience transgressive, degrading, sexist behaviour.
We want to bring attention to the extent and the problems with sexist behavior in the architectural field - both in education, at the workplace and within organizations and associations in the industry.
We hope that you will help us by specifying whether you have experienced or witnessed sexist behavior in the architectural field in Denmark.
You can contribute in the following ways:
Signing that you have experienced or witnessed sexist behaviour by sending us an email with your full name.
You will not have to add your study or workplace.
and/or
Share concrete, anonymous examples by sending us an email with your experience(s).
You can see examples of others' experiences below in this letter.
Send your signature and/or examples to: [email protected]
After about one week, Sunday November 8th, (OBS! New date: November 15th), we will gather the preliminary signatures and examples and share them with relevante media.
We will only make the signatures public if we have received a minimum of 200 signatures, to avoid individualism of the signatures and/or contextualization of the problems addressed.
In this context sexism is defined as experiences of sexual, discriminatory and/or gender harassment character.
It is equally important to emphasize that it concerns all genders.
There has been silence about sexist behavior in the architectural industry far too long. Behavior that unfortunately in many cases has been normalized and accepted.
Now is the time to demand change, unfold the scope and contribute to the ongoing public discussion about sexism, in order to be able to progress.
Our intention and goal is to challenge the educational institutions, organizations, associations, and decision makers in the industry with the aim of demanding a joint action plan to stop sexist behavior within the architectural field.
Please forward this email to as many as possible in your network who you think will find it relevant.
Thank you for your voice and your courage!
With best wishes from the initiative group:
Ida Bergström, architect
Christine Bjerke, architect
Emma Elfvik, architect
Heidi Jacobsgaard Schøbel, architect
Kristine Jacobsen, architect
Thea Christine Høeg, architect
All inquiries can be sent to: [email protected]
Examples from the architectural field:
One among us…
..has experienced that a boss directly said that it was not possible to trust female employees, since they after a certain age, only think of having children.
..has at a christmas party experienced getting a hand between the legs by her boss, who earlier that evening, had entertained the others in detail with the sexual things he would do to her.
..has experienced that a teacher held her tight and kissed her on the neck at the christmas party at the architecture school. The incident caused her to go home crying and since then she had to use her energy on avoiding him and being afraid of meeting him.
..has experienced that a sexism case at the workplace got silenced with the words that the employees should not be so gender-intimidated.
..has experienced that the union rejected to move forward with a sexism case in court, as it “would not benefit financially”, even though she would most likely win the case.
..has experienced that a boss told the client that he had brought the employee to the meeting so they had “something nice to look at.“
..has been told by a teacher at the architecture school that the Danish architectural tradition is lost, since there are too many women in the architectural industry and that women are bad architects.
