Diversity: Myth or Reality?

If you ask the industry--and we did, in last week's Feedback Poll--how we're doing in terms of diversity, only 30% of our respondents think it's anything more than a myth. Commentator Amy S. Applebaum isn't quite so negative, although she sees definite areas of improvement. Applebaum, who is also a vice president in the community development real estate group of JPMorganChase, argues that AREW's very existence is proof that there's still a road to travel before diversity is no longer a topic of conversation. Here's what she has to say:

"We've made great strides, and every step a woman makes opens up new doors for women all over in real estate.

"Diversity in this industry is much like it is in other sectors. There are going to be certain industries that have always been typically female-dominated--fashion and advertising. On the other hand, labor-intensive industries or sectors such as construction have always been male-dominated.

"While we have made progress, there are still some areas where there are probably fewer women and minorities. These include construction, investment banking, and probably development as well.

"I would categorize construction and development differently than investment banking. The barriers to entry in the first two have been because they're traditionally more labor-intensive fields and there's probably a preconception that women can't perform as well in those areas. For investment banking, it's probably due either to a perception about the time commitment or a perception about the training. Today, there's an equal number of women coming out of the top-tier business schools and entering the field, and that wasn't always the case.

"But diversity shines in any discipline that is structured with a commission, where success is based upon how you produce. And when there's a hard bottom-line number, there's no doubt about how well a woman or a member of a minority can perform.

"AREW was founded 28 years ago, and our goal is to give women the opportunities and the tools necessary to be competitive in today's marketplace. Until we achieve that, we're here. Within certain areas of the industry, glass-ceilings still exist. Until we know that there is equal access everywhere, and everybody is equally represented and equally paid, we need to provide women with the tools they need to succeed."