Today, women remain underrepresented in architecture, whether in management positions, on construction sites or in public discourse. From 19 to 29 June 2025, the Women in Architecture Festival (WIA) will celebrate the successes and address the concerns of female architects through 265 events across more than 200 initiatives nationwide.

The festival features exhibitions, workshops, readings and conferences dedicated to topics such as equal opportunities in everyday working life, diversity in planning and construction, and gender-sensitive urban development. For instance, the female architects’ initiative nw is presenting a new ‘SOLANGE’ scaffolding net by the artist Katharina Cibulka in Düsseldorf. The Saarland network Building Women will be presenting itself at a film screening. A new forum called ‘WIA Sommersalon LSA 2025’ has been established in Halle.

Making Structures Visible

In terms of professional policy, the festival aims to effect change by promoting fair pay, supporting young talent, and eliminating the gender pay gap, which stands at eight per cent in the construction industry. Workshops such as ‘Gender-sensitive planning and building’ in Stuttgart and ‘How do we want to work?’ in Bremen are providing important impetus.

Education and mediation also play a central role. In Weil am Rhein, for example, the ‘Girls City & Women’s Lives’ exhibition encourages girls to play an active role in shaping the city. In Berlin, the Baufachfrauen are organising the ‘nachhaltig.gerecht.bauen’ symposium. There are numerous events aimed at a wide audience, including readings, guided tours and film screenings.

The festival has an international resonance, bringing together feminist urban visions from Mexico and Europe in Bremen. Meanwhile, the Nordic embassies in Berlin are inviting people to discuss sustainable visions for the future.