As we recognised international women’s day last Friday, it felt apt that I write about powerful female influences within the property industry.
As an industry collectively, we recognise that there’s still some way to go before we can reduce the gender pay gap and we also face some resistance from younger generations choosing property and construction as their career, however, there are a number of excellent examples of women in positions of power and companies who are embracing a more equally diverse board which I’d like to share. Thankfully, the telegraph recently asked several women in leadership from all types of industries for their best career advice towards reaching the top, including some great examples in real estate:
"To those women aiming high in the world of business, I would give three pieces of advice: learn to be curious; love people; and build resilience."
Helen Gordon, chief executive of Grainger Plc.
"We’ve been working on building a more balanced workforce in the energy industry for a long time. One of the areas we’ve focused on is making sure we have gender-balanced recruitment panels to eliminate any unconscious bias."
Sinead Lynch, UK country chair of Shell.
"I look forward to a time when gender is not remarked upon at all. But until then, promoting diversity and inclusion should be a priority for every business leader. We have to recognise and address any imbalances because doing so will create stronger teams."
Paula Nickolds, managing director of John Lewis.
"There still aren’t enough women at the top in the retail sector and it's crazy because the vast majority of consumers are female. We recently set up an independent not-for-profit network called Grocery Girls to encourage more women in the sector."
Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food.
Not enough women are shown the variety of careers available in property, we need to be educating children in primary school right through to University and continuing during their professional development, that women can do it too.
GKR London Property Recruitment are working closely with employers within the property industry to support them to develop diverse teams and encourage them to promote women in leadership. If you are looking to hire your next team member, or you are looking for the next step up in your career, get in touch with us today!
