International Women’s Day - Women In Estate Agency

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. 

Marked annually on March 8th, International Women's Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness about women's equality, lobby for accelerated gender parity and fundraise for female-focused charities.

According to Forbes magazine, reflecting on the findings of UK government research, organisations with more female leaders on their boards “outperform their rivals with a 42% higher return on sales, 66% higher return on invested capital and 53% higher return on equity.” Other research has found that teams involving women have higher collective intelligence than teams of only men. Investors are likely to see a business as more competently run than without a mix of genders.

Only 22% of board-level members in real estate are women, showing little progress in gender balance in the property industry.

The report from 2019 shows only a 3% increase from the previous report made in 2017, with 22% of board-level members being women, which means that the British estate agency, unlike agency in most other countries, is still dominated by “Men in Black”. 

On the other side, another research shows that the United Kingdom has leapt into the world’s top 10 best places to be a woman in business. In 2018, Britain came 13th in the worldwide ranking of best places where female startup owners can thrive.

Diversity is a hot topic in offices across the UK as women worldwide are challenging issues regarding the difference in pay and opportunities. This interest is no different in the real estate industry, where there has long been a stereotype that men belong in sales and women in lettings, but how true is this today? 

Truth to be told, there is little evidence to suggest that the property market is still male-dominated.

To say there are no opportunities for women within the industry may be a bit extreme, but it would be naïve to suggest that the sector provided true equality. However, most of you will agree that women have opportunities and will continue to thrive in the industry. After all, if you are dedicated and determined and want to be the best, you will succeed in the industry.

If women make big decisions and women can relate to other women, then their advice is trusted advice. Women are also much more in touch with their emotions and, therefore, can be more empathetic.

Women are way better at listening. Telling is not selling. In other words, it’s more important to listen than to talk if you’re a real estate agent. A study says that when it comes to listening, men listen with only one side of their brains, while women use both. There is further evidence that men are more likely to be action-oriented listeners, while women are more likely to be people-oriented listeners.

Women are great at multi-tasking. People who are good at multitasking are generally better at making decisions, too, as they can weigh up multiple considerations and are less impulsive.

Research shows that women are better than men at taking a longer-term perspective. Whilst a male agent might focus on the job at hand; his female colleague might be considering it in the broader context of the business as a whole.

Most females elicit a certain sweetness or softness. The very feelings that many females are judged for having are the ones that make them open and approachable. Women genuinely consider themselves invested in the other person’s well-being. And feminine qualities are valuable things in sales.

Women are also commonly believed to have stronger intuition than men. Men’s brains are neurologically wired to be more logical. The less logical brain is effective because better people skills equal happier clients, better relationships with other agents, better ability to read those clients and agents’ body and emotional language.

The real estate market is changing for both buyers and estate agents. Women are increasingly buying homes and often play a crucial role in the home buying process. They may initiate the search for an agent or home, dictate the search criteria, and provide the initial down-payment.

By helping the female agents on your team to succeed, you can build a more significant share of the millennial home buyer’s market. More importantly, you’ll strengthen your organisation by encouraging a merit-based culture and challenging gender-bias.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Well, I hope this helps. Not only do I provide posts to help promote and support the community of Tooting and its surrounding areas, but I am a local property expert too. As always, please do get in touch with me should you need help or advice with the sale or rental of your property, I am here to help.

Chuk - Your Local Property Expert for Tooting and Surrounding Areas