AIA National President Carl Elefante, FAIA recently issued a statement in response to the The New York Times article regarding allegations of sexual harassment by architect Richard Meier. Mr. Elefante said that AIA National was “deeply troubled by the allegations in The New York Times today, and believe that sexual harassment—in any form and in any workplace—should not be tolerated and must be addressed swiftly and forcefully.”
Elefante noted that sexual harassment is against the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct that all members agree to abide by, and pointed to the AIA National Sexual Harassment policy as a resource. “Several years ago, AIA embarked on a multiyear process to understand and address the equity and diversity issues in our profession. In 2014, AIA adopted a sexual harassment policy for all AIA leadership and staff, and is committed to extending it to all AIA components, members, and their firms.”
As a member, you can familiarize yourself with the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and take pride in aligning yourself with an organization with a clear professional code of conduct that does not tolerate sexual harassment.
From the stage at Grassroots in San Diego this week, Bill Bates, FAIA, AIA First Vice President and Chair of Grassroots 2018 stated that sexual harassment by any individual towards another is in direct conflict with the values of AIA. He also emphasized the importance for all AIA members to speak up when they see harassment occurring in their workplace.