Women of Influence 25th Anniversary Special Edition

Letter from the Editor

CRE’s #MeToo Movement

Welcome to the 25th anniversary issue of Real Estate Forum‘s Women of Influence—a feature that we have supplemented over the years with CRE’s Women to Watch and the WoI Hall of Fame. Altogether, 100 women of achievement are profiled in this issue.

This year is significant not only because it is our 25th time running an issue dedicated to women’s achievements in the industry, but also because it’s the first one published in the #MeToo era. To be clear, there haven’t been, as far as we know, public disclosures of the kind of sexual harassment in our industry that kicked off the #MeToo movement in other sectors. But the hashtag represents more than just an inappropriate use of power and unwanted advances. It is also indicative of women’s inequality in the broader workforce and a pay gap that never seems to close no matter how much lip service is given to the issue.

Not to mention the humiliations that women in commercial real estate must still endure over churlish behavior and inappropriate language. One only has to look at NAREIT’s annual conference, held earlier this year, when the paragon of CRE investment, Sam Zell, made a vulgar and lewd reference to women. NAREIT and Zell eventually apologized, but the damage was done. Here was an industry luminary, speaking at a prestigious association’s annual conference, yet he felt free to use that language on a public stage.

It should also be noted that Zell was in fact making a positive statement on the importance of gender equality in business. However, the verbal slip overshadowed—if not killed—his message and perfectly illustrated the still-toxic culture in some parts of the business.

Imagine how the women in the audience must have felt after that bombshell dropped. Imagine how embarrassed many of the men, sympathetic to their female coworkers’ challenges, must have felt. And we can’t help but wonder who else has since felt free to mimic Zell’s tone, simply because he is Zell. (I won’t even get into the trends we’ve been seeing in the broader public sphere and current social and political climate).

Though I straddle the fields of CRE and media, I have also been subject to the same issues many professional women face—being underestimated, talked down to or over, treated as part of the décor or trying to get the person I’m speaking with to maintain eye contact, to name just a few—more times than I can count.

And then there are the inequalities that are quantifiable. In commercial real estate specifically, a handful of organizations—including our cover subject—do a marvelous job of surveying the industry and collecting data related to gender parity. For the full data, check out CREW’s white papers and benchmark studies, and don’t miss RETs Associates’ latest survey on Women in CRE.

In spite of—indeed perhaps because of—all of this, women in this space persevere and persist, spurred on with a determination to make a mark. They have a passion for the business and a desire to help their companies succeed. They work at all hours, travel continuously and still find the time to devote to volunteer projects and mentoring efforts. This year we received close to 500 submissions for our various categories, a record for us and an indication as well of the passion and pride these women have about their careers, their companies and their coworkers.

Men, as well, are increasingly recognizing the value of women’s contributions to the labor force. Data from MARC (Men Advocating Real Change, part of Catalyst Group) show that when men are actively involved in gender diversity, 96% of companies report progress; that figure drops to 30% when they’re not. In real estate, male leadership at a number of major firms have made diversity a priority, and men account for 3% of CREW Network’s membership—admittedly it’s not a high percentage but CREW is hopeful that this will change. Likely it will, if you look as stories and profiles like the ones in these pages become more commonplace.

Still, many in the industry—men and women alike—will likely join me in saying that they hope there will come a time when these lists that Forum and its counterparts publish are no longer necessary. A time when women have been fully accepted and integrated into a welcoming business community. We hope so, too. In fact, if the women we’ve profiled are any indication (scroll down for this month’s features) we think that time will come sooner than many expect.

Women of Influence 25th Anniversary Special Edition

A Fresh Course for CREW As it prepares for its 30th anniversary next year, the organization continues to move ahead in helping women navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of the commercial real estate world.

CREW in Training Through education and scholarships, the CREW Network Foundation takes students far beyond the classroom.

Women of Influence Hall of Fame These inductees have made such an an indelible mark on their fields of business that their names, and reputations, are well known throughout the CRE universe.

2018’s Women of Influence Spotlighting 55 outstanding professionals whose success and achievements have made them stand out from their counterparts in the commercial real estate community.

CRE’s Women to Watch These rising stars may not have been in the field for long, but if they continue on their current trajectory they’ll soon become some of CRE’s biggest influencers