As International Women’s Month comes to a close, we’d like to take the time to recognize the women of the real estate industry. Women have been a powerful force in real estate for years, becoming a majority of real estate agents and rising to positions of leadership in corporations that shape the future of the industry.
According to the NAR, women were already moving into positions as agents and brokers by the 1880s, establishing real estate as a field open to female workers. Today, female representation in the real estate industry is higher than ever before – and women outnumber men in the industry by at least 26%, including making up 63% of all Realtors as of 2018 and 56% of licensed brokers in 2017.
Throughout different sectors of the industry – development, commercial real estate, residential real estate, and more – women have established themselves as a dominant force in real estate. As more and more women have been taking on roles in real estate, the number of women in leadership positions has increased as well.
While men still have the majority of leadership positions, women have increasingly held positions of power as time has progressed, and made strides to help close the wage gap as well. With the diverse amount of positions available in the industry, from real estate agents who can set flexible hours to CEOs of major corporations, a plethora of job positions are open to women looking to advance their careers.
The presence of women in real estate is continuing to grow year over year as well, as more young women come into the workforce and continue to break through barriers, find ways to grow into leadership positions, and become a dynamic force in their companies.
Now that women have been well-established in real estate for years, a pattern of mentorship has begun to develop as well. The New York Times profiled real estate professionals who are trying to create more spaces for women in the industry – women like MaryAnne Gilmartin, whose passion is to spearhead a commercial real estate project with every aspect of the process led by a woman.
The women who have been trailblazing in real estate since the mid-1800s have paved the way for a female-dominated industry today – and the women of today are creating patterns of mentorship and fostering success to open doors for the next generation of female real estate professionals to take on even more leadership roles and career advances.
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