Women Architects in Film (WAR/F) proposes a pioneering study of the portrayal of women architects that commercial cinema has constructed throughout the 20th century as a signpost of how society has been perceiving men and women working as architectural practitioners. The project focuses on the period from 1945 to 2000 and deals mainly with the Spanish and Latin-American context while framing it within the international scene (Hollywood and European-selected contexts).

The proposed project aims to create a basis of new knowledge that will lay the foundations for future research on how mass media represents women architects since their entry into modernity at the beginning of the 20th century.

WAR/F is an unwritten part of the history of architecture, as well as the history of cinema. Moreover, it is a source of information to understand the evolution of gender stereotypes in the architecture profession, which is, according to the Architects’ Council of Europe, one of the main gaps that most effectively explain current gender inequality in the architecture profession.

Achieve gender equality in the career development of women architects (of different ages, ethnicities, social backgrounds, and geographies) is a challenge to solve in itself (Sustainable Development Goal 5), but not only. Gender Equality is also necessary to ensure diversity in the architecture profession. It is a crucial goal to serve the needs of all inhabitants of different ages, with different family configurations, employment patterns, socioeconomic status and caring burdens (Sustainable Development Goal 11), and to accelerate the European transition to a more prepared and resilient community.