CREJ - Property Management Quarterly - November 2015
In the years since 1963, when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, the education and experience gap for women has been steadily closing. More women are educated, and entering and staying in the workforce. But for all of our progress, the pay gap has not changed much in the last 10 years. According to CNN Money, males out earn their female counterparts by 22 percent on average. When I find myself asking why this gap still exists (and that the percentage difference is so staggering), I am reminded that, as a whole, women tend to be less aggressive in their career choices, in negotiating salaries and in asking for raises. Are women hardwired to seek out positions that are somehow less weighty than those that are “typically” male and usually pay more? According to the Center for American Progress, “One of the largest driving factors of the gender wage gap is the fact that men and women, on average, work in different industries and occupations.” I began my career in commercial real estate, which is dominated by men who buy, sell, build and lease buildings. What I found interesting, however, is that those same men generally hire women to manage those buildings. I realize it is taboo to say such things, but because I too have followed “the safer path” throughout my career, I can speak from experience. The high-risk/high-reward model was outside my comfort zone, but I knew in order to get to the next level I needed to take a risk. When I finally did, I was relieved to find a soft landing at BLDG Management, where I have the opportunity to develop our business services division. This division was designed to operate as a resource center for our employees and includes our human resources department. Fortunately, I took this leap of faith at the right moment and have been a part of explosive industry growth. I found that many professionals, due in large part to the market growth, are migrating to property management. “The office sector was the most popular among applicants in 2014, 13.7 percent of all applications,” according to the 2014 Job Barometer. “Multifamily jobs came in second with 11.8 percent. Lagging behind in popularity, retail (6.6 percent), industrial (4.3 percent), and single-family openings were nevertheless toward the top of the charts in terms of applications received.” As a result of this tremendous growth, I’ve hired a lot of amazing people, men and women alike. As I’m sure many of my peers would attest, men and women gravitate to certain positions. Women lean toward leasing, housekeeping and administrative openings, while men seek out maintenance, grounds keeping and accounting positions. With that said, I believe women have found property management to be a platform for professional and financial success and an industry in which they can wear their leadership hats proudly. They can marry their business mind with their nurturing nature – a trait that is essential to great customer service – in order to achieve great things. Property management, unlike commercial brokerage, has long been a female-dominated industry and, as such, I believe industry leaders have a responsibility to take the next step in supporting these earners by offering greater benefits that will keep them engaged in the workforce longer and support a work-life balance that will keep them focused on growth and the long-term opportunities available to them. In recent years, there has been a push to engage employees at all levels across all industries. Google and Amazon began offering more robust benefit packages, which include extended leaves of absence. Recognizing the value women bring to the workplace is fundamental in taking the necessary steps to retaining their talent. For us, this means a paid family leave program, flexibility and promotion from within. Also, we seek to develop our talent through a number of internal and external education programs, including BLDG-U, a program for which all of our team members are encouraged to self-advocate and never stop learning. We have had tremendous success with these initiatives and created opportunity for our employees. Along the way, we found that these programs foster loyalty, sound decision-making and, ultimately, increase the performance of our properties. I am excited to be seated at a table where the leadership is balanced between men and women, and where bold ideas are embraced and encouraged. It’s an exciting environment where passion and excellence are spotlighted and our team knows they have real opportunity for growth. This is a step in the right direction for women in real estate, and I am honored to play a part in narrowing the wage gap for women. It is encouraging that there is so much attention being given to this subject, and I believe more women will find property management is an avenue for achieving financial success.