I began in my role as the Humanities and Design Librarian at the University of Minnesota (UMN) in February 2023. Within my first month of employment, I read an article in College and Research Libraries called “Breaking Barriers: How Libraries Can Better Support Female Architecture Students for Professional Success,” by Cathryn Copper and Sara Jamal Eddin. Two statistics stuck with me. According to the National Accrediting Board (NAAB) Annual Report of 2018, women comprised 46% of students enrolled in a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) accredited programs. And according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) “Membership Demographics Report 2018,” only 25% of practicing architects at the time were women.

Updated versions of these same two reports for 2023 noted that women comprised 53% of enrolled students, and 26.8% of AIA members. In 2024, these reports noted that women comprised of 55% of enrolled students, and 27.1% of AIA members. There is still a substantial difference between the number of women studying architecture and the number of women professionally practicing in the field. After reading these statistics, I was determined to increase support in the library for women architecture students at UMN.

My initial idea was to curate a book display about women architects in the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library. While browsing the stacks for print materials to display, I realized that my next step should be to work on collections development, and I began conducting an environmental survey for new books to add to our library collection. This work led to the realization that there are not enough quality scholarly publications focused on women architects from around the world, and inspired me to write Women Architects Worldwide: Building a Diverse and Inclusive Canon, a reference book that uplifts the name and work of a woman architect from almost every country and territory in the world, expanding upon the Euro-centric architectural canon.

This book is written from the perspective of a Humanities and Design Librarian rather than of an architectural historian. The scope of information was inspired by inquiries I have received from library patrons in reference consultations. Patrons commonly need assistance narrowing their research topic, selecting keywords or phrases to develop search queries, and discovering information in a variety of scholarly and popular resources. My recognition of the need for a reference tool to support these common research needs informed the book’s scope of information and format.

Because architecture is part of the built environment, the book is organized through a geographic lens of place. Sections are organized by continent and then by country or territory, with one representative per country or territory selected based on where the architect was born or raised or where they practiced or researched architecture. The selection of only one representative per location was intentional, meant to provide equal representation of each geographic location featured in the book. Architects also met at least one of the following four criteria: the first woman architect in the geographic location; a woman architect who accomplished a first in the architecture industry and has affiliation to the geographic location; a woman architect who established her own architectural firm, studio, bureau, or organization in the geographic location; and/or a woman architect who specialized in, researched, lectured, and/or advocated for architecture from the geographic location. The introductory overview of each architect’s career is meant as a starting point for scholars to obtain a selection of notable accomplishments and discover keywords to continue more in-depth biographical research.

Information about each architect includes a varying combination of full name, birth date, place of birth, education, place of education, notable career accomplishments, death date and location (if applicable), and a reference list of resources related to the architect. I made a good faith effort to contact each of the architects to provide an opportunity to review the information for factual accuracy. Methods of contact included sending emails to professional and academic email addresses, connecting with and messaging architects on LinkedIn, contacting professional associations, and requesting contact information from archives which owned related materials and from newspaper / magazine editors who wrote about the architect. Conversing with the architects has been an incredible experience. I am grateful for the support that I have received for this book.

I conducted my research using a variety of scholarly and popular resources, starting with a search of the UMN Libraries catalog for resources related to women architects in each geographic location. During this environmental survey, I realized that information about women architects in every geographic location was not available. To fill the gaps, I conducted an environmental survey of popular resources such as LinkedIn, professional association / organization websites, university websites, architectural magazines, architectural history blogs, and professional websites for architectural firms. I was able to identify a broader scope of architects who aligned with the criteria for this book and to learn about their incredible careers. I then searched for their names in the UMN Libraries catalog and WorldCat to discover resources that specifically focused on each architect.

There were limitations to accessing information about women architects on a global scale. The names of the locations for which I could not discover information are listed in the section divides for each continent. I encourage scholars to use these identified information gaps as a starting point for their own research. Additionally, the end of the book includes a selected bibliography of print books, eBooks, and book chapters related to women in architecture and gendered architecture, available in the Libraries of the Big Ten Alliance. This bibliography provides historical and socio-political context to experiences of women in the architecture industry. As a librarian, I encourage readers to browse the bibliographies throughout the book to discover relevant resources about women in architecture.

Women Architects Worldwide: Building a Diverse and Inclusive Canon is a foundation for building a more diverse and inclusive architectural canon. This is not a comprehensive book of all women architects around the world, nor is it a comprehensive biography of the architects featured in the book. It is instead a starting point for scholars to learn more about the careers of women architects worldwide and discover resources to conduct further research. My hope is that readers are inspired to continue this work and conduct their own research about the careers of the architects featured here. These careers deserve more recognition and visibility in scholarship. It is our collective responsibility to increase visibility of the indispensable impact of women architects who have designed our built environments around the globe.