International Women’s Day 2022 | Matt Page

As part of our International Women’s Day series, alongside highlighting our incredible female team members, we wanted to engage and start a conversation with the men in our office to discover what steps they’re taking as we strive for gender equality to #BreakTheBias.

Who are the women who inspire you?

Besides my wife, I feel very fortunate to work with such a large group of incredibly accomplished women. I think one of the things we pride ourselves in here at SB Architects is that we are about a 50/50 split between men and women in the firm. As such, there are just so many talented women here that head up our offices, project teams, business development, marketing, accounting, HR – the list goes on so it’s hard to point out just a few!

I would like to give a shout-out to Marla Ushijima – a senior associate and senior project manager here in our San Francisco office. I’ve had the pleasure of working with her on a particular project for the last four years now and I’m continuously amazed at her positive, upbeat attitude and fantastic work ethic – not to mention she is a great mentor to those around her. She has been instrumental in getting the above-mentioned project ready for construction and we hope to break ground in the next month!

What does it mean to you, and the industry as a whole, to have more women leadership?

It creates an overall better team dynamic. We are in an industry that caters to all demographics, so limiting our leadership diversity limits our approach to the industry.

How, as a man, can you help break down any barriers facing women in the workplace?

By being a vocal advocate wherever I can to help recognize and promote my female colleagues