A Woman’s Place is In Commercial Real Estate

For far too long, the commercial real estate industry has been male dominated, but slowly this is changing.  According to a 2020 Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) study, women held 29% of commercial real estate brokerage positions, up six percent since 2015. Additionally, 32% of women in the survey said they aspire to be in the C-Suite, up 4% from 215.

Across the nation, professional groups such as Women’s Real Estate Network , CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women)  and Women in real estate help women in commercial real estate exchange information and expand their professional networks. Here in Madison,  the University of Wisconsin Women in Real Estate (WIRE) Club was formed in 2018 to encourage women in its real estate program to network with one another and learn more about the industry from local CRE professionals.  The group holds events and career panels throughout the school year, along with networking and mentorship opportunities.  Earlier this year, Compass Properties became the group’s first company sponsor.

“Bringing more women into our industry strengthens the pipeline as we look to nurture and develop the next generation of talent,”  said Todd Greenwald, Compass Properties Vice President of Operations. “It brings new perspectives on how we connect with the clients and communities we serve.  We hope our financial support of WIRE can help more women succeed and be the driving force of a more diverse CRE industry.”

According to College Factual,  72% of real estate bachelor’s degrees from UW Madison went to men and 28% went to women in 2020, so there is still much work to be done. That’s why groups like WIRE are so important.  As stated in its vision statement,  groups like WIRE “encourage more women to pursue careers in real estate and maintain a network that extends from students to alumni, benefiting both parties.”

“We created WIRE to build and support a community of women at UW Madison who have a passion for real estate,” said WIRE’s Student President, Ava Wisniewski.  “WIRE helps our members build their connections and networks within the commercial real estate industry, which has traditionally been very male dominated.  We appreciate Compass Properties’ sponsorship, as it allows us to fund activities aligned with our mission.  Compass Properties is our first corporate sponsor, and we hope they pave the way for other forward-looking companies to come on board as well.”

Click here for more information on WIRE, including how your company can get involved.