Show Notes
The numbers aren’t great. Women in architecture are still paid less, promoted less, and leaving the profession at higher rates than men. It’s not unique to architecture, but there’s plenty of work to do. According to a Bespoke Careers report, the gender pay gap in Australia sits at 20.6% — nearly triple that of the UK and US. Angela Dapper has seen those realities up close, and has made it her mission to be the change she wants to see in the industry. Over a career in Melbourne and London with Grimshaw, Architectus and Denton Corker Marshall, she’s led landmark projects like the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, Aesop Store and Oxford Botanic Gardens Glasshouses. She’s mentored emerging architects, challenged industry norms, and built a reputation for making her voice count in rooms where women are still underrepresented.Now she’s stepping away from big practice to start her own socially sustainable studio on her own terms. This conversation explores the reality of being a woman in architecture and what it takes to create a career that truly works for you.0:00 – Introduction1:09 – What keeps Angela in architecture4:15 – Gender bias and the uphill battle in the 90s5:47 – Leaving Australia for opportunities in London7:17 – Designing the Stonehenge Visitor Centre12:22 – Lessons from working in three major practices15:41 – Leading diversity initiatives at Grimshaw17:55 – Why Angela moved from DCM to Grimshaw20:50 – Choosing the right practice for you22:26 – Why many senior women are leaving architecture24:05 – Starting her own socially sustainable studio27:59 – Making small projects high impact30:49 – Listening and adapting to community clients31:50 – Why she started her business later in her career34:22 – Returning to Australia as an architect36:41 – The value of panels, mentoring and professional networks40:13 – Gender equity in architecture today45:06 – Angela's experiences with gender discrimination47:19 – Advice for young architects finding their voice50:17 – Has her career turned out as expected?
More from Bespoke Careers Podcast
We’ve wrapped season one of the Bespoke Careers Podcast. 42 episodes, from architecture students right up to institute presidents.Here's some of the best advice that stuck with us. Seven ideas worth hearing, from 196 years of combined experience.
James Zagari is the co-founder of EST Lighting, an Australian lighting company he established in 2016 after a career that began almost by accident with a sales role at Philips Lighting.
Download the 2026 Global Salary Guide: https://www.bespokecareers.com/salary-guide/Muyiwa Oki is an architect at Mace and was President of RIBA from 2023 to 2025, the institute's youngest and first Black president, elected after a grassroots campaign that started in a WhatsApp group.He studied at Sheffield, did his Part 3 with RIBA North West, and worked at Glenn Howells Architects in Birmingham and Grimshaw in London before moving to Mace, where he works the front end of projects with public and private clients. During his term he set up the workplace and wellbeing task force and the RIBA's AI advisory group, and pushed the institution on pay, access to the profession and level 7 funding.
Illya Azaroff calls architecture his side gig. He's also the 2026 president of the American Institute of Architects and has spent 30 years responding to disasters around the world.His father arrived in the US as a displaced war refugee from Ukraine, and Illya grew up at a dinner table where hunger was a firsthand memory. That upbringing led to a degree in geography, then a career in disaster mitigation, and now the presidency of a 100,000-member institution.We get into what the presidency is like from the inside, why his kids are the reason he ran, the ethos he borrowed from the Kalinago people in the Caribbean, why nearly half of small businesses never reopen after a disaster, and the message he wants every architect to hear: you are more powerful to your community than you realize.
Shajay Bhooshan is an Associate Director at ZHA Architects and co-founder of ZHA CODE, the practice's computation and design research group, now 28 people inside a studio of around 500. He studied at the AA's Design Research Laboratory, where he still teaches, and completed his PhD with the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich. His work spans high performance geometry, robotic fabrication, game engines and participatory design, including the 3D printed concrete bridge Striatus.