In a League of their ownMar. 20, 2009 In a League of Their Own Source: Globe and Mail, Kerry Gold, Special to the Globe and Mail Update Andrea Kraus was managing a private health club 20 years ago when she had an epiphany. Feeling overworked by the long hours, she decided to quit and go into real estate. “I was looking for a house and I thought: ‘Hey, I can do this.' And I jumped into it blind,” she says. And, she signed up for a real estate brokerage course to learn how. “They couldn't figure out why I would want to do commercial,” she says. “But it's a great business because you're dealing with business people and business hours, from 9 to 5. So I thought: ‘Why are you going into residential?'” It's safe to say that the commercial real estate business is not the domain of women. Ms. Kraus estimates that 95 per cent of the brokers are male. She guesses that, out of 500 to 600 commercial real estate brokers who work out of downtown Toronto, there are only five women. “There are another 12 who are secretarial and administrative, and they want to become agents,” she adds. “But they get very pigeon-holed. They start working for a guy who's a big shooter downtown and they get pigeon-holed as a secretary and it's very hard [to make the transition].” Meanwhile, women in residential real estate are clearly holding their own against men. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, of its 28,610 members, 11,123 are women. (The board did not have a breakdown on the numbers of agents who practice commercial real estate.) However, while women don't often work as commercial brokers, they do work in commercial real estate in a wide range of other roles. And because they are in a league of their own, they have formed a support network called Commercial Real Estate Women, or CREW, with 66 chapters and 8,800 members across North America. About 11 per cent of the network comprises women who are in senior positions. CREW serves the purpose of building business relationships between women who are involved in every aspect of the commercial real estate transaction – real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, lawyers, construction workers, bankers, property managers, landlords, developers and interior designers, to name a few. The general criteria for most chapters is that to join, a member must be involved in the real estate transaction, and she should have several years' experience. There is a mentorship and education component to the mission statement, so that senior members can guide the junior ones. “It creates power for you, it's really strong,” says Ms. Kraus, who is the Toronto chapter president and has been with it since it began 12 years ago. “That's the basis for success, really. With any group, the more you put in, the more you get out. “Because of CREW, and in particular being on the board … I can call anyone and they will return my calls.” Ms. Kraus says lawyers comprise 21 per cent of Toronto CREW, the biggest professional segment of the group. In Vancouver, business lawyer Gayle Hunter is a board member and one of the nine co-founders of that city's chapter, which formed in 2005. The group that started Vancouver CREW was a diverse one, comprising a lawyer, chartered accountant, real estate broker, an asset manager, a development consultant, a vice-president with a real estate advisory company, a designer, a tax consultant and a director of leasing from a real estate company. “One of the driving forces for putting Vancouver CREW together is that there are a significant number of women in the commercial real estate industry in Vancouver across all aspects,” says Ms. Hunter, seated in a huge downtown boardroom with a panoramic view of the Northshore Mountains. “I've been in the business for about 18 years, and so I know a lot of people in the industry and in this city. But I was amazed at how many more people I met once Vancouver CREW came to be.” Ms. Hunter is careful to note that CREW is not a social club. It's about business and deal making, and it is a highly organized operation. Because it's not an industry that instantly attracts a female work force, the network raises money through sponsorships and offers student scholarships, career days and educational conferences aimed at young women. “It's part of what drew me to this industry, is that people just really like what they're doing,” Ms. Hunter says. “So there is a desire to share that, and make sure that other people realize that those opportunities exist.” While there might be obstacles to overcome in the industry, CREW is not about drawing a line between the men and the women, although Ms. Kraus says there has occasionally been that perception. She recalls being at an industry dinner and talking to a 26-year-old woman who worked for a surveyor company. The woman said she thought CREW represented “girls and knitting,” and she didn't want any part of it. The woman eventually joined and has happily been a member for two years. Another woman told Ms. Kraus that she “didn't want to offend people” by joining an all-women's association. However, men can, and have been, members of CREW. It is not a women-only group. “You look at the statistics and see there are a lot more men than women so there will, of course, be a lot more men in senior roles,” Ms. Hunter says. “But I can't say that we have ever had a discussion that focuses on those sorts of issues. And we have a lot of support from the men in the community.” Adds Ms. Kraus: “There should be more women [in the industry] because we are more detailed and organized, so it should be a natural. But most are intimidated with the boys' club. It's not too different from other industries. “Is there sexism? Probably, but I have been in the business 20 years, successful and well respected, so I don't see it. I am sure it is around in a small way on a day-to-day basis. There were very few women in the senior positions in large real estate firms a decade ago – but it is changing.” |