Women Real Estate Leaders Addressing Challenges Women Face in their Careers

Today, women are gradually dominating the real estate industry. However, they continue to experience almost similar challenges as their female counterparts in other sectors.

The contemporary woman can be anything; a mother, entrepreneur, real estate agent, real estate developer, broker associate. Although we are encouraged to tell ourselves that we can have it all, succeeding in any career always comes at a price, particularly for women.

It is agreeable that both men and women face obstacles that hinder them from advancing their careers. However, women experience unique challenges. Some of these include inequality and socio-economic pressures. In general, international research portrays women as global economy saviors because they are the primary decision-makers of annual spending power. Simultaneously, several women feel powerless and unable to create and achieve the things they yearn and want. So, what challenges are women really facing in their careers?

Here, Stephanie Smith, a renowned real estate developer in California, giver her views. Stephanie Smith, also known as Steph Smith, is a mother of five, an entrepreneur and successful real estate developer who has broken the real estate industry glass ceiling and is yet to achieve more.

One of the most cited challenges is a gender imbalance. The real estate industry has a male-dominated reputation, which has led to very few women in senior positions. According to Stephanie, the industry is judged on who holds power rather than who holds a license. She argues that several women hold realtor’s license, but very few women are present in industrial development.

She says

“We should judge the real estate industry on who holds power rather than who holds a license. Sure, some women hold a realtor’s license, but it’s very rare to find women in industrial development, investment management, or commercial sales.”

She also points out that it is even more challenging for women of color.

“If we judge real estate by who has the power and the money, it’s definitely not a woman-dominated industry and is not inclusive for people of color.”

When we look at ownership, women own very few real estate investment management and development firms, with women of color even fewer.

According to Stephanie, the US commercial real estate industry is highly male-dominated. There is a huge gender gap as very few women are present in commercial real estate. Stephanie affirmed this by stating that, “I am literally the only woman I know who does ground-up industrial development.”

She goes ahead to say:

“There are too few powerful women role models. While women are almost half of the US labor force, we make up less than 5% of CEOs and less than 10% of top earners in all industries. Even sadder, if you look at where powerful women started, it typically wasn’t at the bottom. In fact, I don’t know any women in real estate development who started as low as I did.”

She claims that the imbalance is embedded in the system, citing that lack of quality, affordable child care, absence of universal health care, and gender discrimination as some of the vile backed into the system.

Another challenge women face in the industry is access to capital. According to Steph, access to capital is mainly reserved for the asset owning class unless one already has assets or borrows heavily from family. The system does not favor women and people of color in regards to access to capital.

Women, especially women of color, are less likely to access capital due to the profound gender bias when they try to raise capital. In most cases, investors ask women invasive questions centered on their personal lives rather than the business ideas they bring to the table. According to her, there aren’t many real estate developers who aren’t white male trust fund types, both sad and telling. Sure, women have shattered a few glass ceilings, but brick walls remain for non-privileged women.

Despite these challenges, women are fighting through the struggle and continue to work hard to create an opportunity to change the norm for her benefit and other women in a similar situation.

Stephanie started an Industrial Partner Group company, a real estate development firm that buys and develops custom-built industrial and commercial real estate in Southern California. IPP has a $ 25-hour minimum wage and does not offer unpaid internships.

The firm has a $ 25-hour minimum wage and do not offer unpaid internships. I had to quit my first college internship because it was unpaid, and I couldn’t afford it. I promised my future self I’d never put someone else in that position. Besides, she understands the value of a flexible schedule for women with children. As a mother of five young children, she has come to appreciate the value of a flexible schedule. As a result, her firm offers 14 weeks of paid parental leaves and 12 weeks of paid sick leave. Her company aims for 35-hour average work weeks so that the women do not have to choose parenthood and employment.

She believes that “supporting women’s success in the workplace is impossible without quality, affordable child care, free universal preschool, and universal health care. We aren’t free to succeed if we are tied to our children or trapped in a job because we will lose health care.”

Apart from supporting the success of women in the workplace, Stephanie Smith is involved in addressing issues encountered by the less fortunate and women in the community. She is a member of the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club and is on the Policy Committee of EveryChild Foundation.