Parlour needs your support. Over the past three years Parlour has become an important ‘space to speak’; a strong and respected platform providing research, resources, advocacy and discussion about gender equity and architecture.



We have built a high profile and a significant audience, nationally and internationally. We have helped fuel the demand for a more equitable profession, with better work practices, and have provided resources to facilitate the changes required.



Parlour has built a large community of interest that is founded on shared concerns and commitments, not just geography.



The funding for the research project at the heart of Parlour has now finished, but there is still much work to do on the complex issue of equity and architecture, and we want to make the most of the significant momentum we have built so far.

Parlour has become an incorporated association. This will enable us to continue as a powerful voice in the profession that also provides space for others; to expand the resources available and to develop new initiatives and projects. 

We also want to ensure that the Parlour discussions and resources continue to be available to all. To do this we need support from like-minded organisations, business and individuals who value our work and its results.

Please help us to ensure that Parlour has an active future. 

Credits

The Parlour website (and twitter account) has been a vital part of Parlour's success. This "space to speak" is an important platform for discussion, research and resources, and helps us reach diverse audience, near and far.

The website enables many voices to contribute to the conversation about gender and architecture. It also helps us support equity initiatives by others, giving them access to wider audiences. Together the website and research program provide the ground for all other initiatives. But it takes time and money to produce this important platform and publishing program.  

The funds from this campaign will help ensure that Parlour continues to publish high-quality content over the next year. We will also send regular updates to all supporters. (The costs involved in establishing Parlour as an organisation will be covered through other fundraising activities).

$5,000 – to develop the website into a responsive site, which is easily read on mobile devices. Parlour is a great site, but things move fast in the online world. Updating to a responsive site is particularly pressing as Google is downgrading non-responsive websites in its searches from June 2014.  

$10,000 – editor. Parlour has great content. This is carefully planned and commissioned. Funds raised through this project will contribute to the costs of commissioning and developing new content over the next year.

$15,000 – subeditor. Parlour has high editorial standards and all content is carefully and professionally edited. This is part of our success so far. Professional subediting is vital to ongoing quality and the credibility of the publication.

WHAT IF WE RAISE MORE?
The more we raise the more we can do. Parlour has big plans to keep the pressure on, to ensure that equity remains high on the architectural agenda, and to provide evidence, resources and enthusiasm to make it happen.

Further work will include:
– Publishing. Commissioning, editing and publishing more work and thematic series.
– Resources. Developing a set of case studies showing strategies for equity used in particular architectural workplaces.
– Resources. Developing a kit of model equity policies for practice.
– Impact. Promoting Parlour research and resources to an even wider audience. (Parlour members regularly talk in Australia and internationally.)
– Research. Developing new projects to continue to build the research base. 
– Events. People loved Transform and other Parlour events and we will hold more across Australia. 
– Exhibition. An exhibition is coming up at the Tin Sheds Gallery at the University of Sydney.
– Collaboration. Parlour is part of a burgeoning network of international organisations committed to gender equity in architecture. We are exploring opportunities to work together and our first formal initiative – to increase the number of women architects on Wikipedia – has just received seed funding from the Wikimedia Foundation.

Parlour was developed as part of a wider research project looking at gender equity in Australian architecture, led by Dr Naomi Stead of the University of Queensland. The website and associated resources were developed with funding support from the research grant, with significant pro bono input from editor Justine Clark, along with other members of the research team and website contributors.

Since the funding finished in May 2014, the work has continued on an entirely volunteer basis. For Parlour to continue to publish high-quality content and develop significant resources, it needs to reduce its reliance on pro bono work. This crowd-funding campaign is part of ensuring that the project has a sustainable future, and is complemented by a sponsorship program and a new preferred donor arrangement with the National Foundation of Australian Women.