ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the state of play in two key contrasting areas of the built environment professions – planning and surveying – in respect of ‘gender’ issues, with particular emphasis on women and planning. First a brief background is provided on the growth of the numbers of women in planning and surveying. The contrasts between surveying and planning are highlighted, not least the fact that a far greater percentage of female membership is to be found within planning than in surveying. Yet, paradoxically, because surveying is such a larger profession, the actual number of women surveyors in the United Kingdom is double that of women planners as found in the main professional bodies, namely the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and the RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) respectively (Watts, 2003) (Table 7.1).
