WIRE
“We don’t need labels, we just need to be our best professional selves.”
Senior Vice President
Commercial Real Estate
Brookline Bank
“We must inspire more young girls and innter-city youths to dream of real estate as a career, to shape the future of their own cities and neighborhoods.”
Senior Vice President
Finance
Berkeley Investments
This inaugural report by MIT Women in Real Estate (WIRE) highlights the pervasive gender inequality in the commercial real estate (CRE) in industry and academia. Based on recent literature and interviews, we present insights on the gender pay gap, women’s leadership, and perceived barriers and contributors to success. To learn more about strategies for gender inclusion, read our op-ed, “Room for Improvement: 7 Ways To Close the CRE Gender Gap.”
2023 Women In Real Estate Report
On average, women held
9% of C-Suite,
25% of Management, and
44% of Overall Workforce
positions in the real estate industry in 2022.
AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT
AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN C-SUITE
a smaller increase in the percentage of women in management compared to last year,
and no change in the percentage of women in C-Suite since 2020.
This marks an increase in the percentage of women in the workforce since 2020,(1,3,4)
AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN WORKFORCE
In 2022-2023 academic year, an average of25% of Faculty and 32% of Students
in top U.S. real estate graduate programs identified as women.
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN STUDENTS IN US REAL ESTATE PROGRAMS (2022-2023 Academic Year)
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN FACULTY IN US REAL ESTATE PROGRAMS
(2022-2023 Academic Year)
PERCENTILE OF KEY LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES IN WOMEN & MEN
PERCENTAGE OF US REAL ESTATE GRADUATE PROGRAMS WITH WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
(2022-2023 Academic Year)
In 25% of graduate real estate programs, 40% or more students identified as women.
In 8% of graduate real estate programs, 40% or more faculty identified as women.
58% of the programs appointed women in leadership roles, such as program director or department chair.
The pay gap widened in 2020 compared to 2015
Women continue to earn less than men in CRE, and the compensation gap widens with age and years of experience. While the annual salary gap varied significantly by specialization (with lowest of 3.6% in Asset Management and highest f 24/6% in Finance), the greatest pay gap occurred in commissions and bonuses, which averaged 56% difference across Asset Management, Brokerage, Development, and Finance specializations.
Women consistently scored better than men on 84% of Key Leadership Skills.
according to a 2019 Harvard Business Review Study by Zenger-Folkman, a global leadership training and consultancy firm serving Fortune 500 corporations. So why do women continue to be shut out of leadership positions in commercial real estate? Bisnow reporter Patrick Sisson remarks: “It’s about bias, aided and abetted by systemic, structural inequities.”
GENDER PAY GAP IN 2020
Junior-level interviewees listed “Lack of self-confidence” and “Lack of career opportunities”, while senior-level interviewees listed “Balancing career and personal life” and “Lack of promotion opportunities” as top barriers.
Majority of interviewees expressed frustration in workplace gender discrimination, such as exclusion from casual gatherings (i.e. beer gatherings and golf outings) and differing expectations for parental and family care leaves.
Interviewees across all experience levels identified “Having a mentor or sponsor,” “Being at the right place at the right time,” “Working harder than peers,” and “Opportunities for leadership and business networking” as top contributors.
Drawing from these insights and research results, we identified strategies for creating a more inclusive future for the real estate field.
Balancing career and personal life
Lace of career and promotion opportunites
Having a mentor or sponsor
Being at the right place at the right time
Opportunities for leadership and business networking
Read op-ed >
Adventures in CRE. (2018). Profiles of the Top Masters Degree in Real Estate Programs. Retrieved November 09, 2022, from Adventures in CRE: https://www.adventuresincre.com/re-education/university-education/school-profiles/
Alastair, M. (2020, January 24). Responsible Investing Is A Rare Field of Finance Led by Women. Now It's Hot - And Men Want In. Fortune. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://fortune.com/2020/01/24/responsible-esg-investing-women-finance/
ANREV, Ferguson Partners, INREV, NAREIM, NCREIF, PREA, REALPAC, Urban Land Institute. (2021). Global Real Estate DEI Survey 2021: Summary Report. Urban Land Institute. Retrieved 12 2022, November, from https://knowledge.uli.org/en/Reports/Research%20Reports/2021/Global%20Real%20Estate%20DEI%20
Survey%202021
College Factual. (2022). 2022 Best Real Estate Schools. Retrieved November 08, 2022, from College Factual: https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/business-management-marketing-sales/real-estate/rankings/top-ranked/
CREW Network. (2020). 2020 Benchmark Study Report: Gender and Diversity in Commercial Real Estate. CREW Network. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://crewnetwork.org/getmedia/c3b1b456-46da-4c00-9a6e-da188ed9cd05/crew-network-benchmark-study-report-gender-and-diversity-in-commercial-real-estate-2020.pdf.aspx
Reynolds, P. (2022, July 11). Women Don't Self-Promote, But Maybe They Should. Retrieved November 27, 2022, from Harvard Division of Continuing Education: Professional Development: https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/women-dont-self-promote-but-maybe-they-should/
Sisson, P. (2021, April 27). Research Shows You're Better off Choosing a Woman: So Why Don't They Get The Top CRE Jobs More Often? Bisnow National. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/top-talent/youre-better-off-choosing-a-woman-so-why-dont-they-get-the-top-cre-jobs-more-often-108643
Tucker, H. (2022, May 12). Forbes Global 2000: The World’s Largest Real Estate Companies In 2022. Forbes. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2022/05/12/forbes-global-2000-the-worlds-largest-real-estate-companies-in-2022/?sh=a6f36bb4549a
Urban Land Institute. (2021). 2021 Global Real Estate DEI Survey. Urban Land Institute. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://knowledge.uli.org/en/Reports/Research Reports/2021/Global Real Estate DEI Survey 2021
US News. (2022). Colleges Offering a Real Estate Major. Retrieved November 05, 2022, from U.S. News & World Report: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/real-estate-major-5215
Whalen, F., & Terenteva, M. (2022). LATAM - The Role of Women in Real Estate and ESG Opportunities. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://www.moore-global.com/industries/real-estate-construction/real-estate-construction-newsletter/september/latam-the-role-of-women-in-real-estate-and-esg-o
Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2019, June 25). Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2019/06/research-women-score-higher-than-men-in-most-leadership-skills
Women In Real Estate (WIRE) at MIT Center for Real Estate was founded in 2022 with an aim to to advance women’s participation in the real estate field. Working with students, faculty, and industry professionals, WIRE sponsors research on gender diversity in the field, industry training and networking events at the MIT Center for Real Estate.
About WIRE @ MIT CRE
Fabio Duarte Faculty Advisor
Siqi Zheng Faculty Advisor
Yoon Cha Research and Design
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Interviews
Teri Ford
Raquel Ganitsky
Sam Hallowell
Samara Kaufman
Joan Matera
Celine Xu
Siqi Zheng
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