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Smashing the Glass Ceiling

By 11 April 2024January 30th, 2025No Comments

The 2023 Pipeline report shows that the real estate and construction industries lag most others when it comes to female representation at a senior level. Across the sector, females occupy a mere 21-29% of leadership positions. It’s an oft repeated phrase, but you can’t be what you can’t see. This expression encapsulates the cyclical challenge that we face in terms of gender diversity and inclusion.

Women enter the industry in a healthy number and do well, but look upwards and see limited examples of people who look like them and balance their competing priorities. They struggle to feel included or understood, become disillusioned, then leave the industry.

The pipeline of female talent for succession decreases and, in turn, the problem is perpetuated.

The context and the challenge

It’s critical to understand more about why this is the case. There is a growing body of research into gender inequality. A recent Harvard Business Review study tracked a group of men and women over the course of one year. It monitored all their interactions and connections within and outside their organisations.

The data confounded previous assumptions that men and women behave differently at work as an explanation for differing progression paths. In fact, it proved that the quality and frequency of all interactions was almost identical. What differed was the responses to these interactions or how they were received.

In this context, irrefutably, the issue hampering women’s progression was unconscious bias. This complements a myriad of other research, neatly summarised by the 2023 Pipeline Report, which identified the biggest obstacles impeding improved gender balance as: gender bias and stereotypes, work-life balance, and unrealistic expectations, pipeline and skills development and company culture and support. 

These are complex issues that are often are ignored in favour of DEI quick wins. An emerging term ‘support-washing’ describes the way in which many businesses put in place a maternity/paternity policy and a DEI group and decide the challenge is fixed.

Real Estate Balance’s 2022 report showed that ‘there is a disparity to how well board and senior leadership think they’re doing [on DEI] and how well they’re actually doing.’  

Signs of meaningful change

The time is now for bolder moves to inspire inclusion. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report identifies skills gaps and an inability to attract talent as the key barriers preventing industry transformation. This makes retention a critical priority. It also states that almost four fifths of surveyed businesses state they will be prioritising women.

The Circle Partnership was established to address the challenge of gender inequality head on. Run by Vanessa Murray and Ceri Moyers, the organisation delivers an annual programme of 1:1 mentoring, training and networking for mid-level females in real estate and construction. It specifically targets women between the ages of 20-40 where research proves there is a greatest retention challenge.

The programme is curated to provide the confidence, skills and connections that women need to stay and excel within the industry, with the ultimate goal of improving the gender balance at senior leadership level.

Dean Summers, MD of St James and St William comments, ‘being a panellist for a Circle Partnership event giving the male perspective on gender balance opened my eyes to a number of the implicit day to day challenges that women in our industry face. It’s easy to overlook the behavioural and attitudinal issues in favour of what seems more impactful policies and processes. I’m passionate about focusing on education and real allyship which can only start with really listening to understand women’s lived experiences in our sector. at Berkeley our IWD 2024 event this year was a conference where we brought together circa 185 women from across our businesses and circa 60 male colleagues. Part of this session focused on what allyship actually means, as well as really proactive advice from the women at Berkeley who sit on the Leadership Executive Committee.

As a business, we’re also investing in The Circle Partnership so that our female talent can reap the rewards of a like-minded network and receive targeted training and mentoring that is bespoke to their needs.’

An evidence-based approach to inclusion

The Circle Partnership has built its programme around research which show benefits from initiatives such as development options which focus specifically on the social and organisational assumptions that constrain women, sponsorship mentoring for women and networking. The objective is that talented women can meet and learn and grow from other talented women.

John Redfern, Head of London Business Space at Savills, a Circle Partnership partner, gives his perspective: ‘Providing a platform that gives access to mentoring from senior leaders within property, development insights and networking opportunities is critically important for the early-stage career development of our future female leaders.’ 

The experience of Josie Oliver, associate at Ashurst and a 2023 Circle Partnership mentee, consolidates this theory: ‘The programme provides the opportunity for junior women to build a network organically across sectors in a way that usually only happens at a senior level, as well as practical skills which aren’t always directly addressed – how best to manage difficult conversations, for example.

‘The mentoring itself gives a sounding-board for your career. My mentor was an architect, so she had a completely different perspective to mine as a solicitor! Women have traditionally been underrepresented and the programme is an attempt to change that. By providing this training early in our careers, The Circle Partnership is giving junior women the tools to not only stay in real estate, but to thrive at the top end.’

And programmes such as this benefit the mentors too. Claire Dawe, Head of Asset Management for Stanhope, explains: ‘every year I learn something new from my mentee, have my assumptions challenged and my perspective on our industry broadened. I also benefit from the networking opportunities with fellow mentors from across the whole real estate supply chain. It’s a circular economy as such – we mentors benefit from networking with our senior peers, pass our experience down to our mentees, they share this knowledge with their own peers, grow and thrive in the industry, become mentors themselves and the cycle – hopefully – continues.’

Undoubtedly the industry is in a better place than it was even five years ago when it comes to gender diversity and inclusion, not least because of the research that now exists into this topic and the consistent opportunities that are being highlighted to effect real change. The power rests with businesses throughout the supply chain to determine that strategic investment in this area is one well made.