Marcy Hart, left, partner at Fox Rothschild, and Jennifer Carey, CEO of JLC Environmental

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Women in commercial real estate continue to face the same gender gap challenges experienced by women in other industries, including lower pay than their male counterparts, lower levels of aspiration to the c-suite, fewer opportunities to be mentored or sponsored by senior executives, and less inclusion in social outings that can lead to career opportunities, according to the results of the latest CREW Foundation study.

Members of the Philadelphia CREW chapter gathered recently to review the results of the 2015 CREW Network Benchmark Study Report: Women in Commercial Real Estate, a periodic tracking survey of employment, hiring, and management trends in the industry affecting women.

Research findings uncovered the following gender gaps, disparities and potential bias:

An aspiration gap exists between men and women in commercial real estate: 28 percent of women aspire to the c-suite versus 40 percent of men.
In 2015, the industry median annual compensation was $115,000 for women and $150,000 for men – an average income gap of 23.3 percent. The income gap was widest in the c-suite at 29.8 percent.
Women in the 2015 study ranked the lack of mentorship within their company as the #1 barrier to success, scoring the importance of continuing to focus on mentors and sponsors.
Bias and other discriminatory practices such as ageism persist. The number of women in commercial real estate with 20+ years of experience is decreasing.

“We focus on research that talks about women in commercial real estate and reveals areas where inequality still exists,” says Jennifer Carey, CEO of JLC Environmental and chair of the CREW Network Foundation. “We found that the wage gap in commercial real estate is that women are making 23 cents less than men on every dollar. We also focus on career satisfaction, the aspiration gap between what women want vs. what men are aspiring to.”

The CREW Foundation is the only charitable foundation whose mission is to promote women in commercial real estate, says Marcy N. Hart, a partner with law firm Fox Rothschild. “We provide educational opportunities, sponsorships and mentoring for women,” she says. “Gender disparity is not just selective as to commercial real estate, but it's nice to see an organization address it within the specific industry.”

The research suggests women don't get the kind of mentoring or sponsor support that men get from the senior executive team, Carey says.

“What we really want people to be aware of in their management and hiring practices is to be aware that we can offer those opportunities to women and they are going to hit home runs and do very well,” Carey says. “Women are not often invited to the golf outing, or the fishing trip or the hunting trip. Perhaps because they are not getting exposure to the complex projects that maybe their male counterparts are getting exposed to, and those opportunities come from having someone in your organization sponsor you.”

Part of the problem may be a disconnect in the way people perceive discrimination in the workplace, Carey says. Some 91 percent of managers say there's no bias in their hiring or management practices, but 65 percent of those surveyed said they experienced it either directly or indirectly.

“We have to work on those kinds of things,” Carey says. “One way is to encourage more men to become active in CREW. There have even been CREW chapters that have had male presidents.”

“We accept men as members wholeheartedly, we don't want to be on the giving end of any kind of discrimination,” she says.

“Gender bias is a difficult thing to overcome,” says Hart. “Transparency with respect to the pay gap is what's going to make the difference, because equal pay goes a long way toward confidence-building and changing the disparity.”

Fox Rothschild

Research findings uncovered the following gender gaps, disparities and potential bias:

An aspiration gap exists between men and women in commercial real estate: 28 percent of women aspire to the c-suite versus 40 percent of men.
In 2015, the industry median annual compensation was $115,000 for women and $150,000 for men – an average income gap of 23.3 percent. The income gap was widest in the c-suite at 29.8 percent.
Women in the 2015 study ranked the lack of mentorship within their company as the #1 barrier to success, scoring the importance of continuing to focus on mentors and sponsors.
Bias and other discriminatory practices such as ageism persist. The number of women in commercial real estate with 20+ years of experience is decreasing.

The research suggests women don't get the kind of mentoring or sponsor support that men get from the senior executive team, Carey says.

“We accept men as members wholeheartedly, we don't want to be on the giving end of any kind of discrimination,” she says.

Instant Insights /

Philadelphia CREW Chapter Examines Gender Gap in CRE Career Paths

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