The Confidence Gap: How It Affects Women's Careers in Architecture

In this 42 minute conversation, Stephen Drew speaks with Ishwariya Rajamohan FRSA, founder of Ishoo Rajamohan Coaching, about how challenges with confidence affect the retention and career progression of women in architecture, and what individuals and employers can do about it.

Who this is for

Architects, architectural assistants and designers at any stage of their career, particularly women navigating majority male workplaces; practice leaders, directors and HR teams responsible for retention, progression and inclusive culture; and anyone returning to practice after a career break.

Learning outcomes

1. You will be able to describe how confidence challenges contribute to the loss of women from architecture at different career stages.
2. You will be able to identify common barriers women face in practice, including pay, progression, flexibility and returning after a career break.
3. You will be able to recognise early signs of eroded confidence, such as persistent self-doubt and overthinking routine interactions.
4. You will be able to apply practical confidence-building techniques, including keeping a record of achievements and grounding practices before high-stakes meetings.
5. You will be able to explain the business case for diverse leadership, including recruitment, retention and design quality.
6. You will be able to use interview questions to assess whether a practice's culture is genuinely inclusive before accepting a role.

Why women leave: the retention problem

Ishwariya explains that while the majority of architecture students are now women, many encounter obstacles once they enter practice that make it hard to take up space in the industry. She describes a recurring sentiment in her coaching conversations: if nothing changes, I will leave. Women leave at various stages, and some stay in the profession but move out of practices to set up on their own in search of flexibility.

The barriers in practice

The barriers discussed include pay, work-life balance and slow career progression, compounded by limited representation of women at senior levels. Ishwariya notes that some women decline promotions because the balance they maintain already feels fragile. Stephen adds a recruitment perspective: before the pandemic in particular, women returning from maternity leave often struggled to re-enter the industry or were penalised for needing flexibility, leaving many behind on salary relative to male peers.

Recognising a dip in confidence

Early signs include doubting everything you say, replaying site meetings and emails, and overthinking routine requests such as asking for time off. Ishwariya observes that confidence issues often surface when someone wants to make their next career move and realises they cannot see a way out of their comfort zone.

Practical ways to rebuild confidence

Two practical techniques stand out. First, keep a running record of successes, including small ones such as solving a problem for your team, and revisit it when confidence dips. Second, develop a grounding practice before meetings, whether that is breathing, preparation or simply arriving early, so you can hold your centre regardless of how others behave. Ishwariya also stresses understanding how the game is played: building networks and relationships early, not just technical skills, because leadership decisions often favour those with visible relationships.

Career breaks and returning to work

Both guest and host encourage planning intentionally for career breaks: anticipating time out, staying engaged with your network, and trusting that you can return and still offer value. Stephen advises returners to present a break as a normal part of life rather than a weakness, and to lead with the experience they bring.

The employer case for change

Ishwariya describes reviewing the people pages of large practices and finding the proportion of women thins out sharply at senior director level, even where the wider workforce is majority female. The costs of inaction include recruitment and training costs when people leave, fewer applicants when leadership pages show little diversity, and weaker design outcomes where teams lack the lived experience of the people they design for.

Interviewing the practice back

Stephen shares techniques for assessing culture from the candidate side: ask what interviewers enjoy about working there, ask whether the practice believes its culture is truly inclusive, and visit the office in person where possible, because the website does not always reflect reality.

Key terms

Confidence gap: the pattern of self-doubt that disproportionately affects women's willingness to pursue promotions, pay rises and leadership roles. Retention: a practice's ability to keep staff over time, particularly through career stages such as parenthood. Gender pay gap reporting: published data on average pay differences between men and women within an organisation. Grounding: a personal routine used to stay centred before high-pressure situations. Returner: a professional re-entering the workforce after a career break.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. Where in your own practice do you see the proportion of women change between career stages, and what might be driving it?
2. What evidence of your own achievements could you start recording now, and how would you use it before your next appraisal or promotion conversation?
3. If you lead a team, which of the barriers discussed (progression, flexibility, returning from leave) could you act on within the next quarter?

About the guest

Ishwariya Rajamohan FRSA is the founder of Ishoo Rajamohan Coaching, established in 2021. A former architect and pastry chef, she is an accredited coach with the Association for Coaching and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She supports women leaders in architecture, hospitality and other majority male industries with building confidence, and works with organisations on gender-equitable leadership development.