Embracing Diversity and Leadership in the 21st Century Workplace

PMDL’s leading women share their personal views on leadership and their values in support of International Women’s Day.

Over the last 20 years we have witnessed great progress in workplace equality. However, a gender gap is still seen across many work sectors, including architecture and interior design. Based on a 2017 report published on archdaily.com, a 2015 gender survey revealed that women in Australia and the United States only account for 30% of practicing registered architects.

Recent reports show that this gap is closing with the McKinsey report ‘Women in the Workplace 2018’ stating, "For more than 30 years, they’ve been earning more bachelor’s degrees than men. They’re asking for promotions and negotiating salaries at the same rates as men. And contrary to conventional wisdom, they are staying in the workforce at the same rate as men.”

In support of International Women’s Day and equality in the work place, PMDL took the opportunity to interview our Principals and Studio Leaders in our studios in Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong. We asked who they look up to and what drives their passion and motivation. We also asked what advice they might have for other aspiring leaders in the workplace. We interviewed Vicki van Dijk, Practice Director, and Principal of Sydney Studio, Donna Payne, Practice Director, and Principal of Melbourne Studio and Aino Kavantera, Senior Associate and Studio Leader for the Hong Kong Studio. 

Q: What’s your story? Why your chosen profession? 

Vicki: I Knew when I was 12 years old that I wanted to be an architect. My parents built and designed two extensions to our house which I made positive contributions to even at a young age. Starting in high school I planned my electives to support my career choice and never wavered from that. The fact that there were few females in the profession at that time did not even factor into my thinking.

Donna: I joined PMDL as a graduate architect in 1998. I became an associate in 2000 and in 2002 I moved to Melbourne and established our Melbourne studio. As a young person I loved art, drawing, making and creating things, so to study architecture was the logical choice for me. I studied at Queensland University of Technology and completed my bachelors over a 6 year part-time course that required you to be employed in the profession while you completed your studies. I worked with some great firms and gained fantastic experience. It was a very tough and long 6 years but I believe it provided me with an incredibly sound and solid foundation to launch a career - I have never looked back

Aino: I had no idea what to do after finishing high school so I applied for a few different things. One of them was to study economics in Finland, and another application went to study Interior design in the UK. I got accepted to both, so my strategy was to study in the UK first so I would get to see a bit of the world and learn English. My original intent was to return back to Finland to study economics, but of course that never happened. I progressed onto an Interior Design Degree Programme and thereafter worked in the industry. It’s now 20 years and counting and I am still on that journey!

Q: What is one of the defining moments in your career and how does it affect you in your decision making today.  

Vicki: Making the move from being a project architect into a management/leadership position at PMDL. A huge learning curve for me and one that initially challenged me, as I believed I needed to be everything to everyone. The main lesson I learned was to work to my strengths and let fellow directors do what they do best. It is the combination of the whole, not one individual, that creates a successful business. 

Donna: There isn’t really one defining moment in my career that I would be able to identify as influencing or effecting my decision making today. It is more a collection of experiences, and the experiences others have shared with me. I find decision making comes from our experience and with experience we all make better decisions and judgement calls.

Aino: My first job as a graduate designer was with a RIBA-registered London practice, Antarchitecture. The practice had recently been set up and had a total team of three including the Principal. With such a small team, I got full exposure to all aspects of running an architectural project. Apart from perfecting my skills in preparing a 'builders brew', I also learned how to do measured site surveys, planning applications, drawing packages, snagging lists and more. At the time, the practice focused on retail design, which gave me a solid foundation in this sector. As it happens I have ended up returning to this sector over and over again during my career. I believe this early experience has proved invaluable in understanding how retail projects are best and most efficiently run.

Q: What excites you right now about your profession and what are you looking forward to? 

Vicki: What excites me the most right now is the growth plans for PMDL and the opportunities it affords the younger members of our team. I was provided those opportunities at PMDL and I am truly invested in ensuring rewarding trajectories for our team.

Donna: Being an inherently creative profession, design and architecture is ever evolving with the influence of new technologies, philosophies and thoughts. I am looking forward to the next 10 years, and continuing to be a part of the evolution of our business and continuing to serve our clients and their stakeholders and communities.

Aino: In our industry, technology is sometimes seen as the monster that is lurking around the corner ready to take our jobs away from us. However, if I consider how much our industry has changed since I started my career, it really is almost impossible to comprehend how much more efficiently we are now able to carry out our jobs. I look forward to seeing technology that can further assist in quality of the outcomes, whether in the studio or in the building site. In particular, I believe future construction sites will benefit of technology and tools that are currently being developed. 

Q: What’s your opinion on the profession's current state in regards to diversity and equality? How do you think it can be improved? 

Vicki: I have never felt there was an issue with diversity in the industry, mainly because it has never been something I’ve questioned. As a female I never doubted I’d be viewed differently as I felt I would always be recognised for my ability and value not my gender.  

Donna: The number of women within the profession has significantly grown over the past 30 years and it is fantastic to see more and more women in influential positions within practices generally and organisations such as the Australian Institute of Architects. As leaders, we need to continue to encourage and support women within the profession and advocate for women within our organisations. In order to reach equality, we need to shift the playing field so that women have the advantage. If we just focus on making things equal, we will take forever to get there.

Aino: Architecture and design offices are very diverse these days, however building sites still tend to be a male-dominated territory. I believe this has somewhat lessened lately though, and much of this is thanks to industry associations such as RIBA and CIOB that promote diversity and equality in the industry.

Q: What are the things that make you like working with PMDL? 

Vicki: I love the diversity of working in this profession and as a leader of the business the challenges we encounter on a multitude of levels, including creative, strategic, technical, practical, political and personal.

Donna: Our people.

Aino: PMDL has an encouraging and enthusiastic atmosphere, where each individual is recognised for who they are and what their strengths are. There is a mentorship programme as well an annual scholarship scheme that are designed to support team members in progressing into areas in which they are interested in.

 Q: What is your philosophy on leading our teams at PMDL? 

Vicki: Leading by example and being inclusive. Giving the team a voice and showing appreciation of their value. Understanding when to muck in and be involved in the team, when to step back into a leadership position, and achieving a good balance of each. 

Donna: Respect is at the core of good leadership - A willingness to listen deeply to others, own ones mistakes and share you experience to allow our teams to grow with confidence and support.

Aino: I believe everyone will thrive when they feel they are truly responsible for what they are doing. We often hear of compartmentalised design tasks where each individual team member is only responsible for a portion of the outcome. This can be demotivating as it removes accountability. Instead of trip-feeding instructions, we like to give assignments to our team. Yours may be a mood-board or a masterplan, but at the end you will set the parameters and timeframe, and take the responsibility for completing your assignment in time. It’s all about accountability in relation to your role and experience.

Q: How would you advise women in the architecture and design industry to invest in their career? 

Vicki: To not see yourself any differently because of gender and to not let preconceptions in this regard effect your performance or outlook. To just be the best architect and designer you can.

Donna: Invest in life, architecture and design its everywhere and is so much about relationships and communication. I would suggest that we should all make sure we are doing what we love, this goes for men and women.

Aino: Try to get as diverse and varied experience as possible early in your career. Join industry associations as these are great for networking as well as continued professional development (CPD).

Q: Who is your heroine? 

Vicki: My mum. A teacher by profession with a go get attitude, great moral compass and tremendous empathy towards and acceptance of others. She never doubted herself and was not afraid to fail. She taught me to reach for the stars. I look back now and realise just what a powerful influence she had on me and thank her for instilling in me good moral values and an understanding of how to treat and inspire others.

Donna: Definitely my mum, is at the top of the list. The great thing about the construction industry is more and more women have joined the industry over the past 30 years so I am privileged to meet strong, creative, intelligent women daily, amongst our clients, our team and our consultants and associations. All mums are heroines, especially working mums in my eyes. Most recently I have been in awe of the strength of women like Rosie Batty. I also admire the passion and determination of women like Annick Cojean to give voice to issues that need to be heard.

Aino: My grandmother for her wisdom, rigour and gentleness.

PMDL continues to embrace diversity in the workplace with a focus on talent, agility, passion, commitment and experience. Congratulations and Happy International Women’s Day!

PMDL Architecture + Design