Women in CRE - what's it like?

Hey everyone, just curious what's the sentiment with ladies in the CRE industry. 

The purpose of me asking is because I am a woman about to graduate college and want to get into IS brokerage. I notice most brokerage firms are male dominated (nothing wrong with that) and wanted to know from the ladies in the field if there were any barriers that had to be faced whether that was from clients, brokers, public sentiment,etc

Just want to know what I'm getting into and what to prepare for that may be different for me

 

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Most Helpful

mef

In my experience, real estate is more than a bit of a boys club, but the women who break through and find success are absolute rock stars. I know far more mediocre men in this industry than I do mediocre women. 

Do your job well, network as much as you can, and you'll do fine. No one is going to stand in the way of a great deal because of your gender. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 
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My advice to you, don't waste your time with IS, go join a group like Girls Who Invest and you'll have easy access to the best of the best PE funds. Apply to BX, STWD, Ares, etc.. as they are all making a big push to get more diversity and network with other women at these firms because people love to help their own kind especially when they're in such a minority such as women in real estate

 

there's no more women at these PE funds than in IS, again don't waste your time and earning potential in a glorified sales role, go do the actual job. Whether it's right or wrong, women have a far easier time getting into these amazing jobs with the big diversity push so take advantage of that and don't bother with a lesser job because you want to make some sort of a statement by going into IS

 

I'm in your position, applying to full-time roles in real estate (not just IS though). I've had two investment sales internships at CBRE/JLL/Cushman firms, and can agree with the first comment that things comes a bit easier to you. Think about it: if you're a girl, you already stand out. If you perform well, it will really be noticed and appreciated. It's so much harder to be one of the many guys and stand out.

 

That's great you were able to secure internships at such great firms. Did you do so through networking with a friend/alum? I have been having a tough time getting levels of interest from those firms where the people I network with say to reach out to HR and then it goes dead from there with them...

Also did you overhear of any biases/jealousy from the males when a female does well/stand out or has it been kept completely professional from your experience?

 

I first want to second what Ricky said - there are plenty of women in IS who are successful - in fact, from what I've seen, the women in IS tend to be more success (for the reasons of standing out as I mentioned in my original comment). So, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

And thank you - to be honest, I was shocked at the moment that I was able to secure those internships because I didn't have any direct relationships in the real estate industry (my parents/family are not in the real estate industry), but I'm proof that you can get into the business without family connections. For my first internship, I reached out to an alum during my junior year while I was looking for a summer internship, and he connected me to an office close-by to my college. Unfortunately, they didn't have any openings for the summer, but out of nowhere over the summer, the office manager reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in an internship during the school year, and I accepted. In terms of the second opportunity, I applied through Handshake while pursuing a masters (which is not necessary to have to get into real estate), and I got the position. To be honest, I think a big reason I got it was because I was a girl, which made me stand out (!!!). The other interns were all guys, and had connections to the firm. I was candidly told that I stood out during the interview process, but typically people have some sort of connection into the firm. This shouldn't scare you, though, because it does not necessarily have to be a close connection, like a friend, but just someone who will push your application along, and help you stand out.

I would recommend you reach out to alums as much as possible because they would probably be most willing to help, but also reach out to anyone on LinkedIn. I do think networking is the best way in. I will also add, though, that most brokerage shops have a hiring freeze right now. I was told I would have been hired for an analyst position after my summer internship, but the office I interned with will have a hiring freeze until 2021. I know this is the case for many firms right now, but from what I've heard, plenty of opportunities will open up next semester. With that said, when you call people to network right now, I would recommend not asking for a job to begin with - I would recommend just conducting an informational interview, and then circling back and asking about jobs in a month/few months or so. You should try to develop a bit of a relationship first before asking for a job.

In my experience, I haven't seen any sort of bias or jealously. The male interns I worked with this past summer treated me no different than they treated each other. I would say that perhaps an older, senior male may have some sort of bias, but the younger guys are mostly with it and shouldn't give you any problems.

 

Lots of extremely successful women in CRE (being a man, I cannot comment on the personal experience), but I wanted to share the bio of Darcy Stacom, she is pretty much THE top IS person in NYC. My advice, join groups like CREW and others (like WX in NYC area, or similar groups in whatever markets you want to work in). 

https://www.cbre.us/people-and-offices/darcy-stacom

 

Get used to being the only woman in the room/at the table/in the meetings a lot. Doesn't sound like it's a big deal at first, but it can wear on you after a while and feel lonely. There are plenty of women in the analyst/associate levels, but the field starts to really thin out around VP levels and up. Work twice as hard to be the best employee and be personable so you'll be respected and liked. 

 

In business school, the women had better luck:

  • Networking - older men are just more willing to meet with college girls than dudes. 
  • Large RE Companies and REITs - Most struggle with their M/F ratios. So some emphasize hiring women. 
  • Retail - Companies like Edens stated women do something like 70% of retail shopping, so women are better suited to design a shopping center experience.

I would look into ULI, they have a WULI with female-only meetings that could be a good way to find a mentor. I believe finding a mentor early in your career will impact it for the better than money or a prestigious brand name company on the resume. Find some successful female mentors and you do well. Best of Luck 

“Capitalism: God’s way of determining who is smart and who is poor.” Ron Swanson
 

I can't speak towards the personal experience, but I have a funny anecdote from a case competition I did in business school. The finalists all finished presenting and we had a 15 minute break for the judges to convene, so we all took the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Waiting in line a few of the women walked right by all the men and one of them commented, half to us, half to herself: "God, I love being a woman in real estate".

So I guess a plus is shorter lines at the bathroom?

 
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Darla Longo's team is probably the highest fee producing team on the West Coast (arguably 2nd to Kevin Shannon). Her two lieutenants are female as well.

Stockbridge has several powerful women on their roster and they've been crushing it.

I can think of 3-4 other firms with high ranking women running things on a day to day basis.

Women are still under represented but the trend is certainly changing for the better.

While I acknowledge that it is a different experience in CRE for women than men, it is important to not get caught up in the gender debate as it relates to real estate. Be smart and aggressive and continually do your best work and people will take notice.

 

I was the only female intern at a real estate private equity firm on the acquisitions team this past summer. At every site tour I would be the only woman. While it definitely was a bit of a "boys club" vibe, as to be expected, I always felt included and valued in the process. Don't think my gender mattered either way as long as I was competent lol. I also feel like many men in the industry really respect their women colleagues since its not always the norm. 

 

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