ABSTRACT
The qualities that seem to characterize women’s ways of knowing and analyzing
appear variously in social-architectural research conducted by women, in alternative communities proposed by women, and in projects designed by women.1 Evidence that such qualities exist or that they distinguish women from men is suggestive at
best. The test for this essay, however, is not in the scientific persuasiveness of the evidence but in the degree to which the descriptions resonate with women’s own experiences in architecture and in everyday life. One goal is to help women in
architecture to identify qualities and concerns in themselves that are often unrecognized or suppressed in architectural education, research, and practice. A second goal is to celebrate these qualities and concerns; a third is to work toward
a profession that is more hospitable to feminist practitioners and that produces an environment more attuned to people’s needs.2
