International Women's Day 2017: The change female property leaders want to see in the industry

It’s no secret that positions of power in the property and real estate industry have long been dominated by men, but the tide is slowly turning.

A 2016 report by Ernst and Young showed men outnumbered women three to one in senior leadership positions within the property sector.

“Women hit a glass ceiling at manager level, with fewer women than men being promoted to leadership positions across all ages,” the report said.

This year’s International Women’s Day is dedicated to highlighting the need for a more gender inclusive world with the theme “be bold for change”. To mark the day, Domain asked five female leaders from the real estate and property sector what change they think is needed to get more women to the top in property.

Leanne Pilkington, managing director of Laing + Simmons

Real estate is in Pilkington’s blood. Growing up, both her parents worked in the industry – her dad owned three offices – and it was helping him out on Saturdays at age 12 where she began earning her real estate stripes.

While studying to be a valuer, Pilkington continued to work as an agent, before a stint in recruitment and then in shopping centre management provided the interval in her real estate career.

She then returned to the industry to work for Laing and Simmons in 1995 and was promoted up the ranks before becoming the only female managing director of a real estate group in NSW – and one of just a handful from around the country – in 2015.

What change needs to occur in the real estate industry?

Pilkington says one of the biggest barriers obstructing more women working in management positions in real estate is a lack of self-confidence.

“You’ve got to be prepared to put your hand up and do it. Women tend to doubt themselves, they want to know they can do everything 100 per cent, but unfortunately, by the time they are comfortable, someone else has taken the position” she said.

“[Women] need to be comfortable with the concept of being uncomfortable.”

A move to a more flexible workforce is something Pilkington says would encourage more women to get involved in the industry and take on management positions.

“I think we do need to be prepared to be more flexible, I think people in general do require more flexibility now.”

Advocating for more women to become business owners would also help even out the gender in balance in the industry.

Georgia Willis, senior development manager – acquisitions, Caydon Property Group

Before getting her masters in property, Willis studied hotel management and worked on the ski fields.

Now, she is one of just three women in the leadership team of Melbourne-based property developer Caydon and was last year awarded the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s women in leadership award.

Willis says there were far fewer women working in the development industry when she first started 15 years ago.

“I used to go to functions … and it would just be a sea of suits. It was really uncommon to see females,” she said.

What change needs to occur in the real estate industry?

Today, Willis says, the industry is just over halfway to improving female representation in the industry.

Willis thinks a shift away from the mentality of bums on seats equals productivity, to a more flexible working schedule, would help boost the number of women in property development.

“It is not about how long you are spending in the office or how many people you know, it is about delivering and getting outcomes, and I think the more we can focus on that in any profession, I think that will be more flexible for a gender balance.”

Catherine Baudet, principal of Ferrier Baudet, fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects

Catherine Baudet

When Baudet completed her architecture degree in 1979, she was one of just three women in her class to graduate.

The discrimination she faced at university – her father was an architect, so people often accused her of getting him to do her homework – followed on into the workforce, where the majority of the jobs for architects were advertised under the “men and boys” section.

“We knew if we were to survive in the industry we actually had to change it. So we formed a small group called women in architecture back in about 1983,” Baudet said.

Business and family life saw the group peter out eventually, but Baudet remained a pioneer for raising the profiles of women in the industry during her ssints on the council of the Australian Institute of Architects. Last month she was awarded the inaugural Paula Whitman Prize by the AIA for her efforts to improve the gender imbalance in the industry.

What change needs to occur in the architecture industry?

Baudet, who runs her own practice in Queensland, says the industry is about halfway there when it comes removing barriers for women looking to enter the industry, but thinks women working in private practices are more susceptible to the effects of discrimination than those working in larger firms.

“I think that people still see big buildings associated with men; there is a comfort factor with the men that they don’t have with women and a lot of the decision makers are men,” she said.

“Clients need to be aware that they should consider gender equity in their selection process.

“There is a lot of big clients out there and I reckon they need to be conscious of [whether] they are really giving women a chance.”

Kate Lumby, auctioneer and real estate, My Auctioneer

Growing up, Lumby’s father told her every day before school “dare to be different” and her career as a female auctioneer is exactly that.

Watching her father conduct auctions of rural acreage was what inspired Lumby to become an auctioneer. She worked in the family business growing up and made her first sale at just 16. By 24 she was already listing and selling more than $70 million in sales each year.

She cut her auctioneering teeth calling charity auctions, then as an auctioneer’s scribe writing down the bids, before picking up the gravel.

Now founder of auction house My Auctioneer, Lumby has called thousands of auctions and was last year awarded auctioneer of the year and the excellence in business award in the Real Estate Business Awards.

What change needs to occur in the real estate industry?

Having served on the Real Estate Institute NSW board and as chair of the RENSW Auctioneers Chapter, Lumby says she believes the industry “welcomes, encourages and promotes women”.

“Women are recognised as an integral part of real estate transactions,” she said.

But time is one of the barriers women face to achieving success in the industry Lumby admits.

“As a working mother I see the biggest challenges are prioritising your time, energy levels, balancing work, family and fun, and being super organised.”

“When I began my business My Auctioneer I was one of the only female auctioneers in the country. I was told that I would never be accepted as an auctioneer, that females belonged in the kitchen and many other antiquated thoughts.”

Antonia Mercorella, chief executive officer, Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ)

REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella Photo: Supplied

A lawyer by trade, Mercorella got her first taste of real estate working as the legal counsel for the Real Estate Institute of South Australia (REISA).

“I knew absolutely nothing at all about real estate,” admits Mercorella.

After a move to Queensland, Mercorella approached the state’s real estate institute to offer her legal services and was offered the general counsel position. Then, in 2014, after working her way up the ranks, she was appointed as chief executive officer of the REIQ – the first female head in the institute’s almost-100 year history and the only female head of a real estate body in the country.

“I love being involved in shaping policy and legislation impacting on real estate agents; that is one of the things I am most passionate about and I really enjoy about my role,” she said.

What change needs to occur in the real estate industry?

Mercorella believes there is a good balance between men and women working in the residential sales and property management areas, but outside of those areas – in commercial real estate, auctioneering and corporate support roles – women lack representation.

“We’ve [the REIQ] probably got a bit of a role to play in terms of educating women about what kind of opportunities are available to them and developing some role models and mentors to expand their horizons and sort of broaden the areas they want to practice in.”