The Co-Founders of BIBI (Banous in Building Industry) are Lili Etessam, AIA and Mani Ardalan Farhadi, Associate AIA. We began in 2015 in the Bay Area with occasional in-person lunch gatherings in San Jose, CA. These were organized by Lili Etessam when she worked at San Jose City Hall and included Iranian women and men who worked at City Hall. She then extended it to architects, engineers and consultants in the South Bay. Though now retired, Lili still continues these in-person Iranian gatherings for Nowruz, Persian New Year, each Spring.

Mani Ardalan Farhadi created the name BIBI (Banous In Building Industry) for the group to represent both Persian women professionals as well as the word “Bibi” itself being a respectful term for elder and wise women. Mani was inspired to recreate the experience she felt at the 1976 International Congress of Women Architects in Ramsar, Iran. The conference was attended by female architects from 23 countries. Famous architects participated including Denise Scott-Brown, Anne Tyng, Jane Drew, Alison Smithson, Gae Aulenti and others, as well as many rising design stars from Iran.  

During the pandemic in 2020, we had the idea to switch from in-person to virtual gatherings and we began to expand our reach through word-of-mouth. Every week another BIBI is added to our membership, which is currently free to join. Our social media presence is limited to private LinkedIn page, private Instagram page, private Facebook page, and private WhatsApp chat, all by invitation.

Furthermore, Mani was inspired by Farid-ud-Din Attar’s 12th C. poem “Conference of the Birds” about an allegorical journey to find the mythical Si-Murgh. Hundreds of birds depart on a journey across seven valleys to find their leader. Along the way, many perish, fall ill, get lost or drop out. When they reach their destination, only 30 birds survive the arduous path. Looking around, they see their reflection. In Persian, 30 is “Si” and Birds is “Murgh.” They realize they were searching for themselves the entire time.

In 2021, we held a design competition for our logo, and the winning design was created by BIBI Shadi Manouchehri Sinclair. It has the letters B-I-B-I intertwined both in English and Persian, and resembles the figure of a woman. The color is based on Persian turquoise.

We are now an informal group of ~200 Iranian-American women across the United States, with some members in Canada and even London. We host monthly virtual gatherings that combine socializing with highlighting a specific speaker each time. Our presenters have been from within our own midst, as we empower each other. We hope to continue to grow our branches and spread our roots in diaspora.