Women and architecture: An evaluation on the visibility of women architects in Turkey

The pioneering, experiences, achievements and contributions of women architects in professional, academic and organizational fields constitute the subject of the thesis. Within the scope of the thesis, the changes in the position of women architects in the world and in Turkey, together with the effects of women's movements, are analyzed. The aim of the thesis is to open a discussion on why women architects, despite all their efforts, cannot achieve sufficient visibility in the architectural profession, which is perceived as patriarchal, and why they remain subordinate in the profession, and to try to raise awareness on this issue. In the study, a historical reading will be made through the roles of women architects in the architectural design process and practice, their participation and contributions to the architectural education process and professional organization, and their different ways of making themselves present in the architectural environment. Within the scope of the thesis, first the first and pioneering women architects in the world, then the first and pioneering women architects of the Republic will be emphasized; the difficult architectural journeys of women will be tried to be revealed. The women's movements in Turkey and the world and their reflections on the visibility of women architects in the architectural environment will be evaluated. On the other hand, an evaluation of the current situation will be made and the publications, theses, academic studies, research and activities on this subject will be emphasized. In the thesis, the visibility of women architects in the architectural environment is evaluated by looking at the studies in all these fields, and their visibility in the historical process is tried to be revealed with chronological indexes. The thesis reveals that despite their experiences, achievements and contributions in professional, academic and organizational fields, women architects are not visible enough in the architectural environment, and that this problem has been tried to be overcome with the studies that have been on the agenda since the 2000s.