Presence without power? Moving from representation to true inclusion

The Equilibrium Network was set up in 2014 with the question ‘Does it matter that women are not involved in decision making in our industry?’

10 years on and we wanted to explore an evolution of that question to see if the built environment, and women’s position within it, have changed. Are women now part of decision-making? What kind of presence is influential?

Is power really the pinnacle of success? Does power have a place in our search for equality? Are we failing ourselves or do we need to stabilise the system?           

We had a great turnout and it was lovely to see lots of familar faces, as well as to meet many new ones.

We opened with founder and outgoing chair Caroline Cole, who shared the story of how and why EQN began and how far we’ve come. From there, we moved on to the debate during which there were some poignant insights and a lot of food for thought. Opinions were divided on whether the industry has made progress in gender equality, which made for an interesting conversation. To round it all off, we welcomed our new Chair, Yasmin Al-Ani Spence who reminded us that we are all born equal but that we need to remember to celebrate our differences.

The resounding takeaway from the evening is that while some progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to achieve true gender parity in the built environment. That’s why communities like EQN remain so important — to keep the conversation moving and to facilitate change.

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Who was on the panel?

Emily Wright

Emily Wright is a journalist and moderator with over twenty years’ experience writing about and commenting on real estate, architecture, design and innovation. Formerly head of content and global editor at leading real estate title Estates Gazette, she now writes for a range of titles including Wallpaper*, The Times, Dezeen and The Spaces and has interviewed architects, developers and political figures including Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Terence Conran and Donald Trump. A passionate advocate for human-centred design she also writes Well-Placed,  a monthly Substack focussed on the importance of places and spaces designed and developed with the end-user in mind.

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Emma Cariaga

Emma was appointed Chief Operating Officer of British Land in January 2025. Prior to this, she jointly led the company’s 53-acre Canada Water development project in central London. She joined British Land in 2014 and became a member of the Executive Committee in 2019. Emma is a Non-Executive Director of Assura plc and of TEDI-London, a higher education provider for future engineers founded by Arizona State University, King’s College London & UNSW Sydney. Before joining British Land Emma spent 7 years at Landsec where she delivered a number of central London developments and oversaw their strategic land portfolio. She previously held development and land management roles at Barratt and Crest Nicholson.

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Tom Ravenscroft

Tom is the editor of Dezeen. He holds masters in architectural history from both Edinburgh and The Bartlett, where his writing focused on the architecture of data centres. Tom has worked for several publications in architecture and construction, including the Architects’ Journal and Construction Manager. He has also contributed to RIBA Journal, Icon, BD, City Metric, Architectural Review and ArchDaily. Videos on the built environment featuring Tom have had over five million views on YouTube.

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Anita Suji

Anita is a Director at AECOM, one of the world’s largest infrastructure consulting firms, and a senior leader within the London Project Management team. A Chartered Surveyor with degrees in Quantity Surveying and Project Management, she is also a Fellow of the RICS and was a finalist in the Women in Construction and Engineering Awards for Best Project Manager. With over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry, Anita has worked as a Project Manager, Development Manager, Programme Manager and Employer’s Agent across the sports, commercial and cultural sectors for leading blue-chip clients and public organisations, delivering projects in the UK and internationally. She currently leads AECOM’s Development Management service for British Land’s Canada Water Masterplan, one of London’s largest mixed-use regeneration projects. Her wider portfolio includes transformative developments such as King’s Cross Masterplan, Canada House, and the Shell Tower refurbishment and she is driven by the opportunity to contribute to projects that shape communities and leave a lasting, sustainable legacy for future generations. Anita also leads Equity, Diversity & Inclusion for AECOM’s Buildings + Places business, championing inclusive leadership and diverse teams. She actively supports early career professionals through recruitment, mentoring and has over a decade of service as an RICS APC Assessor and Chair. A passionate advocate for social impact, she fundraises for CRASH and provides pro bono project management for Rennie Grove Hospice. As a full-time working mother, Anita is a visible advocate for equity, balance, and leading by example. Her career reflects a journey from representation to influence, and she continues to challenge the industry to move beyond presence, toward meaningful power and inclusion.

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Lloyd Preston-Allen

Architect turned property developer with a focus on creating inclusive, future-focused, and resilient places that exist in harmony with the planet. Lloyd is working across several urban regeneration projects at Landsec. He is a Board Member of YADA (The Young Architects and Developers Alliance), a visiting critic at Manchester School of Architecture, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). His primary focus has been on Mayfield Manchester, working alongside public–private partners to take a forgotten 24-acre piece of the city and position it as a reintegrated and connected green city district. To date, the team have worked to de-culvert and naturalise the River Medlock, deliver the first public park in Manchester for over 100 years, and to reactivate the Mayfield railway depot into ‘one of the best nightclubs in the world’ (according to Mixmag). Building on this work, Lloyd has helped shape the Landsec net zero carbon and nature strategy, future cities campaign, and the company’s approach to community-led design and co-creation; his recent work includes leading on the conception of a regenerative policy framework for Mayfield Manchester — designed to embed long-term social value, ecological resilience, and more equitable decision-making into the heart of the project.

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Jessica Glynn

Jess is an Associate team leader at Atelier Ten and leads the company’s Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) group. She is Chair of the Women in Building Services Engineering (WiBSE) panel and sits on the CIBSE EDI panel, contributing to promoting inclusion across the building services profession. Passionate about supporting women in engineering, she advocates for workplaces where women’s skills and contributions are fully embraced and valued. Through seminars, webinars, and ongoing engagement, she works to ensure women are well represented, fulfilled, and inspired to enjoy their careers in engineering.