(March 14, 2023) This winter, AIA CA introduced AB 342 by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, which allows the California Architect Board (Board) to ask licensees to provide demographic information to the Board for the purposes of aiding in our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) efforts.

AIA California has made it a priority to champion a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion to create an equitable community for everyone within the architectural profession. This is founded on a number of principles:

1. A diverse profession is key to the long-term success of the profession and industry. AIA California believes that when our members’ cultural, demographic, and ethnographic makeup mirrors the communities our members serve, the profession will be better suited for long-term growth.
2. The pipeline to enter the profession must be as diverse as the communities we serve. When designing livable communities, it is essential that there is cultural competencies of the communities that are being served by our designs.
3. The architectural profession must address the systemic, cultural barriers to entry and advancement, and prosperity. AIA California is focused on providing the resources necessary for firms and practitioners to make significant and lasting change.
4. As the professional organization for architects in California, we must model the behavior we wish to see and move beyond the status quo.

The collection of this demographic information is essential to these EDI efforts, as it allows for research to be done to understand attrition and recruitment patterns impacting the profession. From there, we can better develop strategies to address any patterns that create barriers to entry within the profession.

What’s Next

This bill has been referred to the Assembly Business and Professions Committee, where it will soon receive a hearing date. Once the date is set, the bill will receive a hearing and a vote from the committee. If passed out of this policy committee, it will next head to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where the cost of the bill will be analyzed and the bill will receive another vote before heading to the Assembly floor for a vote of the full Assembly body. For more information on the journey this bill will have to take to be signed into law, click here.

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EDI Resources

For curated resources for individuals, firms, and AIA chapters to build a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion in California’s architectural profession, click here.