International Women’s Day 2023: Embracing Equity

International Women’s Day 2023

Anupriya Rajpal , Senior Development Manager, Dominus Real Estate

Construction: It’s in my DNA

I come from a family of engineers, my dad, uncles and father-in-law are all structural or civil engineers in India, I have always been inspired and excited by the world of construction. By the age of 17 it was clear to me that this was my path, as my friends explored careers that are less stereotypically male, I was often challenged on my career decision, with friends and family all encouraging me to reconsider. They soon realised my passion for creating great places ran deep and there was no swaying me otherwise.

Decisions driven by Qualifications

I qualified as an architect in India, then I did a Masters at the University of Greenwich in Real Estate Development and Investment and worked in the industry for nearly 10 years in commercial and residential developments. After this time, I considered exploring the softer side of real estate by completing a MBA at the University of Surrey, but soon realised that writing reports and analysing strategies wasn’t for me, I wanted and needed to be on site, making decisions, driving and shaping real change.

During my MBA I began the job hunt, and happened across Dominus by chance, deeper digging into the company portfolio and understanding the ambition at the heart of the company made it an easy choice when I was offered a role. I joined Dominus in June 2019 as Construction Manager, was promoted to Development Manager and in December 2021 I was promoted to Senior Development Manager. I am now part of a team of five, two of whom report into me.

Project highlights

The scale of the opportunity at Dominus is enormous, last year I delivered Lost Property, St Pauls and Hampton by Hilton in Bath. This year I am managing our student living scheme in Holborn, two hotels in Nine Elms plus playing a key role on our projects in Stratford, Crutched Friars and Aldgate in the City of London.

Its these projects and opportunities that make each day exciting.

Don’t just take my word

I have an eight-year-old daughter. Most days our dining table talks revolve around my work, she is intrigued about what we are building next, how we start a project and how we determine what the best asset is for a location. She is very comfortable talking construction, has visited the hotels I have built and is proud of the work I do. It brings me real joy. She is certainly more interested in what I do compared to my husband who works in IT and finance sector.

Embrace Equity

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #EmbraceEquity to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren't enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. When I think about my experience under this lens I believe there is still a way for us to go.

Up until six years ago when I was working in India – things were bad, I really was not very well respected for being a “woman on site”, it took a lot of my time and energy to build rapport, build relationships with site teams, time and effort that male counterparts didn’t have to put in.

In the UK things are a little more sophisticated, but still, I encounter pockets of inequity, some male contractors and consultants have struggled to take an instruction from a woman, or they refused to acknowledge my comments or talked over me in meetings. My coping mechanism is to be persistent, as getting my points across is fundamental to the success of our projects. I consistently challenge and push the teams to ensure we deliver, despite any personal pressures. I really value the relationships I have built so far during my career and maintaining them is very important to me.

Now, I have lots of brilliant male colleagues that have become friends that perhaps didn’t start that way, my dedication to deliver has shone through and I have built respect through credibility and delivery.

Words of wisdom

If I was to give advice to my younger self it would be to be stronger on my approach to any gender based push back. For me this has come with age, confidence and experience, just wish I found my voice and spoke up earlier in my career. Resilience is a strong quality that has helped me through.

Another key piece of advice would be to not have doubts, I wasted time thinking that the softer, more administrative side of the sector was for me, I was wrong. I am passionate about construction, once my mind was made up, there was no looking back for me.