This Sunday (don’t forget everyone) is dedicated to the marvellous women who we all take for granted…MOTHER’S DAY! So, today we are talking about women in my industry (and like our Mom’s, we're tough, hence the picture; don't @ me). Women make up over 60% of residential real estate agents nationwide, but are still underrepresented in leadership, commercial, and development, and tend to have fewer listings than their male counterparts.But it's not all bad -- there are female agents at the highest levels and legendary firms like Corcoran and Stribling were founded and helmed by women. And while most women-dominated industries got wrecked during the pandemic, real estate (especially outside of major cities) blew up. At this point, many roadblocks keeping women from the top in real estate are not even coming from within the industry itself -- it's often an issue of society devaluing soft skills or work that is considered "female." As always, it's complex.
xo
Anna
What's the Deal?
Approximately 63% of realtors nationwide are women, and women outnumber men in every state. It's a career path that enabled single moms to raise children in the pre-pandemic world when corporate jobs didn't allow flexibility. Because individual agents are small business owners, this represents a huge amount of female-run businesses around the country. And Barbara Corcoran and Elizabeth Stribling are legends who founded massively successful brokerages back when this was an even rarer occurrence. Donna Olshan also deserves recognition.
But before we pat ourselves on the back too hard, men still hold the majority of listings in many markets. And more men run brokerages and head teams, with more female agents in supporting roles.
Like an element of the wage gap, you can argue that some of this is self-selection: women choosing to do real estate part time (often while raising child) rather than attacking it as a business. But there is definitely still an element of men being viewed as shrewder businessmen and stronger negotiators, even though that is (provably) not the case. And there is definitely sexism within the industry, although it often comes back to bite the sexist-est in a world of co-broking.
Residential is one thing, but in commercial real estate women are underrepresented even at the lower levels. It's a different world that is more stereotypically male, whereas residential real estate has, over time, become associated with women. People ignore the business side of it and focus on the presentation and home part, associating female agents with open houses and cookies, not contracts.
Same goes for developers and investors, both because of this same perception challenge and also because getting into these fields requires a lot of money. Structurally, the people in the US with the most money are predominantly white men. Women and non-white men are facing much more of an uphill battle, but some of the few non-white-male developers that do exist are trying to change that.
Thankfully it does seem to be improving, and I'm optimistic that this trend will continue. Unlike during the Great Depression where women left real estate in droves, it feels like most of us are now able to stick it out, while our peers in hospitality, advertising, and other female-dominated areas lose ground. I honestly feel a lot of this is technology driven -- we can physically be at home playing the supporting role (often unfairly) and still continue our real estate career.
Why Does This Matter?
The cool thing is that even residential real estate was originally restricted to men, and over time the perception has changed as more and more women got into the field. So, as always, I'll say that representation matters and now women aren't fighting an uphill battle to get their residential license.
The problem with that is that it has coincided with a movement to reduce agents' commissions and ridicule the "soft" skills involved in specifically residential real estate transactions. (Why should someone get 6% for selling my house? That's an easy job, not like being a talent agent at 10%....) Coincidence? I don't think it entirely is.
So, as always, it's a mixed bag, and I'm just grateful that things seem to be getting better year after year. The pandemic removed some of the power of "aggressive tall man" energy and also paved the way for women to be more human and honest in all industries, including real estate. Who'd have thought Zoom would have such an impact?
Further Reading/Watching
For more, please check out the links below:
NY Times - ‘She Build’: Creating an All-Women Real Estate Development Team (article)
Apartment Therapy - The Untold History Behind Why Most Real Estate Agents Are Women (blog)