Women in real estate study launched
The Women in Real Estate Insights Study is targeted at all women across the industry on a national basis, driven by Laing+Simmons Head of People & Growth Jacqui Barnes.
A new first-of-its-kind study has been launched to dig deep into the actual experiences of women in real estate, to uncover evidence-based insights into the common traits between high-performing women agents, understand barriers and enablers, and accurately map the intersection of performance, family load, flexibility and support.
The Women in Real Estate Insights Study is targeted at all women across the industry on a national basis. Driven by Laing+Simmons Head of People & Growth Jacqui Barnes, the project is seeking the views and input of as many women in real estate as possible.
Women and men are encouraged to share the Women in Real Estate Insights Study survey with their peers, colleagues and staff to elicit the greatest number of responses and generate the most powerful, actionable insights.
Ms Barnes says the research study will close the “huge gap between assumptions and reality” by unlocking insights into performance, care and life load, leadership, business ownership, barriers and enablers of success, behavioural traits, and more.
“There’s always a lot of commentary on the importance of providing a safe and encouraging environment for women in the industry, as well as career opportunities and flexibility with respect to family life. But there has never been a specific effort to understand how this can actually be achieved,” she says.
“This study is designed to shed light on the issue by providing credible data to understand what drives female sales performance, what holds women back, what helps them thrive, how businesses can recruit, develop and retain women, and how business ownership and leadership pathways differ for women.
“Existing research in this area is largely confined to anecdotes. There is no consistent data to help business owners make informed talent decisions. This study is about unlocking tangible insights which are practical, commercial and scalable.
“There are countless fluff pieces about women in real estate. This is a commercial study designed to influence how the industry operates with evidence-based insights, and we anticipate those insights to be detailed and profound,” she says.
Ms Barnes says the study will seek actionable answers and solutions to various questions and problems which have for too long been inadequately addressed.
“It has been said that female agents perform better, but the evidence is patchy. Real estate businesses are increasingly trying to recruit women, but don’t understand what women actually need to succeed. Retention of high-performing women is inconsistent because we don’t fully understand their experience,” Ms Barnes explains.
“Additionally, leadership and business ownership still skews heavily towards men, and no-one really knows why. There are plenty of anecdotes and circumstantial evidence in this space but no genuine effort has yet been made to understand the heart of the issue.
“We’re changing that. There are questions which need answers and problems which need solutions, and we look forward to sharing these with the industry later in the year,” Ms Barnes says.
The Real Women in Real Estate Insights Study Survey is here.
Read more on The Real Estate Conversation.
