Women still make less in CRE than men
A recent report reveals a consistently lower pay rate for women in commercial real estate. Commissioned by the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) and administered by the Cornell University Program in Real Estate, the study analyzed various specialties and job titles within commercial real estate and researched nearly 3,000 respondents. This report is a five year follow up to the first “Women in Commercial Real Estate” study commissioned by CREW in 2005, the first of its kind.
“More and more women are being recognized for the tremendous value they bring to the commercial real estate industry and their compensation should reflect this,” said Gail Ayers, PhD, CREW Network CEO. “Our study shows that the wage gap is narrowing, but in this day and age, it is disappointing that this gap still exists. Our goal is that studies such as ours will continue to bring awareness to our industry of the disparities that exist and in turn create opportunities for change.”
The pay gap is narrowing
The Women in Commercial Real Estate study by CREW revealed the following:
- In the $100,000-$250,000 salary category, the percentage of men in this category dropped from 34% in 2005 to 31% in 2010 while women rose from 8% to 11%.
- In the $75,000 and under category, in 2005, there were three times as many women as men in the category and in 2010, there were double the percentage of women.
- The number of women entering the commercial real estate field has risen 7%.
- 9% of female respondents and 22% of male respondents had C-suite roles.
While there is still a disparity between men and women on paper, this gap is narrowing. What the study does not reveal, however, is the general attitudes toward women (by men and other women) in commercial real estate which varies between regions. It is arguable that the disparity between men and women is more tradition than overt sexism, while insiders may argue otherwise depending on their experience in the field.
Regardless of the pay gap, both men and women at the C-suite level expect further pay raises this year.
