AIA Guides for Equitable Practice - Compensation

As an instructor and someone who has trained and supervised interns in the AEC space, I have had the opportunity to talk and think about compensation a lot over the years. So, over the weekend I took some time and read the compensation chapter from the American Institute of Architects' Guides for Equitable Practice. The document contains information that everyone in our industry should read and be generally familiar with; especially AIA members like myself.

I know a lot of students follow this blog, because I reference it in my Revit and AutoCAD textbooks which are used in schools across North America. I think this information will be helpful for them as they prepare to enter the workforce.

Today's post makes a few observations and provides a link to this guide.

Keep reading to learn more...

The purpose of this document is given on the first page:

"This guide discusses current wage gaps in architecture, how they occur, and what their impacts are and suggests steps for evaluating, establishing, and maintaining equity and parity in compensation."

Two quotes about parity and equity from page 3:

"Ideally, the value of compensation will equal the value of work (compensation value = work value); both sides of the equation must be valuated as accurately as possible"

"Calculating equal value and determining what is fair can be difficult, with much room for error. Yet pay equity is critical for reducing discrimination and increasing overall equity"

Link to guide: Guides for Equitable Practice - Chapter 3: Compensation

Real World Examples

The document has a few real-world comments and examples. The snippet below is just beginning of one, you have to read the whole thing... it would be really funny as a SNL/office party skit, but this really happened and is just hard to believe! I am glad I have never worked anywhere like this.

“Leadership recently called a team meeting between me, a few juniors, and a few  intermediate architects regarding unpaid overtime. The senior associate said, ‘You have to understand the profession that you entered. Architecture is not a nine-to-five profession. We cannot afford to pay you overtime, but we do need more from you. To make the next deadline, maybe you can take one day off during the weekend, but otherwise we need you here.’ The only woman in leadership on the team said, ‘It’s like when you take care of a baby: if you take care of the baby from nine to six, at six, do you just leave and let the baby die? No! This is what makes architecture fun! Because everybody is in it to do great work, not to make money!" Pg. 22

Federal Laws

Several federal laws are enforced, which prohibit discrimination, such as:

• Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
• Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

State Law Example - Minnesota

The report mentions that "state and local laws may contain additional requirements." Pg. 9

In 2019 the Minnesota Legislature passed and the Governor signed a new Minnesota Wage Theft Law.  With this new law employers are required to notify employees with a written notice detailing important changes to the terms of their employment. 

Constructive Criticism

There are two minor items in the compensation guide that could be improved.

1. The first has to do with the repetition of information. The notion of some states having laws against asking about previous wages was repeated at least three times through the document.
2. The second has to due with the referenced AIA Compensation Report ($415) not being free, which creates a barrier to very helpful information, especially to those being taken advantage of. I realize this probably costs a lot to develop and document, so I am not being too critical here, just an observation.

Conclusion

Current and future employees in the AEC space should educate themselves about market rates, firm policies, practices, and ask questions like what warrants a pay increase so you don't spend time on busywork not valued the same as other tasks. Ask if there is a compensation schedule by job title; I have worked at firms that have this, even listing what the CEO makes.

• All of the AIA guides can be found here: Guides for Equitable Practice

BTW, these guides where prepared here in my backyard by a research team at the University of Minnesota for the AIA.

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