Commercial real estate companies have made strides toward gender parity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in the last five years—however, progress remains a mixed bag. That’s according to the 2025 CREW Network Benchmark Study, which has tracked women’s progress in the industry over the last 20 years.
“While we've made strides in some of these areas, our benchmark study reveals that the pay gap and gender discrimination are real and persistent issues that remain barriers to women's advancement in the industry,” says Alison Beddard, CREW Network CEO. The study offers deep insights into parity and inclusion across the industry, including these three highlights.
Women’s Representation Remains Stagnant
Women account for about 38% of the commercial real estate industry, a number that has remained stagnant over the last 20 years. Since the study was last conducted in 2020, women’s representation in the industry has only increased 1%.
“To truly increase female representation, the industry needs to take action to offer a safe, inclusive culture through unbiased hiring, equitable pay, and transparent advancement and promotion opportunities,” says Beddard.
To close the gap, Beddard recommends companies focus on intentional, consistent hiring practices along with training and education initiatives at colleges and universities. Improving representation in corporate leadership and at the C-suite level, where women represent a paltry 9%, will also go a long way toward increasing the representation of women across the industry.
Closing the Pay Gap
Companies have made successful strides toward closing the gender pay gap. The fixed salary gap is now only 4% between men and women, down from 10% in 2020, and the gap in overall compensation has narrowed from 34% to 13%. While men still outearn women, the gap is closing. Non-salary compensation is driving the difference.
Beddard says that many women avoid taking commission-based positions, viewing them as higher risk. However, this can be one reason for the pay gap. Commissioned positions naturally receive more sponsorship. Yet only 32% of women consider commission positions versus 45% of men.
“Commission-based work is one of the most equalizing compensation structures available in commercial real estate,” says Beddard. “It has shown over and over how well women excel in brokerage and business development. So that tells me that women in the right environment truly thrive.”
Gender Discrimination on the Rise
For the first time since the study launched in 2005, women are reporting rising instances of gender discrimination. Discrimination is now the greatest obstacle to women’s advancement, according to the study, which found 6% of women experience sexual harassment in the workplace, and 32% of women experience sexist behavior.
“Companies need to be honest about the unconscious bias and discrimination in hiring, promoting, and assigning of challenging projects, inclusion, and high-profile client relationship development,” says Beddard, adding that many companies may need to hire a third-party consultant to truly address gender bias in the workplace.
While companies have successfully addressed other barriers, like lack of promotion and lack of mentorship, discrimination may be a more difficult challenge to overcome. But in the end, overcoming these challenges can mean real benefits to the organization.
“Companies that cultivate and prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion with their people and their teams are outperforming others, including greater earnings, better governance, greater innovation and more opportunity. Those are the facts,” says Beddard.
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