HIstorical Note

The Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals (OWA), an organization for women architects and designers in the San Francisco bay area, officially became incorporated in 1973. Originally titled, The Organization of Women Architects, it evolved from the informal gatherings of twelve women architects looking for a supportive forum to exchange their experiences in a traditionally male-dominated profession to a valuable networking resource and a mechanism to promote the professional and personal lives of its members.

The organization is run by a volunteer Steering Committee staffed by members and the programs and focus of the OWA vary with the interests and talents of the current members. Previous meetings and seminars have focused on job-sharing, flexible work schedules, childcare, portfolio review, public speaking skills, financial seminars, health care, and occupational hazards.

Over its lifetime the OWA has undertaken many important programs and actions for the benefit of architects and design professionals in general, not only women. It developed a Mock Exam to prepare and train young architects for the California State licensing exam, and it set up a health insurance plan (1976) for uninsured architects and designers. The Mock Exam was so successful that the OWA eventually sold it to the American Institute of Architects.

The OWA is also very in active in collaborating with other like minded institutions and helped to establish a new umbrella organization called California Women in Environmental Design (CWED). CWED's purpose was to lobby governmental agencies and provide designing women with public exposure through statewide conferences and exhibitions of their work.

from Horton, Inge "Presentation on the History of OWA at The Colegio de Arquitectos in Quito, Ecuador," 26 June 2003

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