There is a lot of merit to be gained from having women at the core of property businesses. Although women may comprise a large portion of residential property practitioners in the country, few have actually risen to head up national agencies. Inspiration is not hard to find given the strong historic trail-blazing examples of Pam Golding, Wendy Machanik, Adrienne Hersch, and Aïda Geffen, whose granddaughter Ya’el currently heads up Sotheby’s International Realty.
This situation is not representative of the growth of female property owners in South Africa, particularly single and black women. Last year Lightstone reported that women own or co-own more than half of SA's homes. Many also view property as a means by which to earn an extra income and, by so doing, claim their independence from the archaic concept that men are the heads of households. In fact, as per Statista figures issued in 2021, 42% of households in SA are female-headed, the majority of which are black women.
Investment in female leadership is imperative regardless of industry. The World Economic Forum confirms from its research that 'companies including women at top leadership levels tend to outperform those that don't. There is certainly a huge variety of research to prove this is the case, but let's face it, no one would dare challenge these types of statistics for fear of potentially being accused of discrimination, especially across the continent where women were marginalised for centuries.
Has anything changed?
Easy to say that things are different today, but nothing has really changed. Men still dominate as agency heads, leaving few female role models. Role modelling is touted as a very efficient way for women to navigate to executive management roles, particularly through mentorship. The ‘lift as you climb’ principle opens the door for new women leaders to emerge.
Perhaps, as suggested by some commentators, women in real estate are content not to take on the added responsibility of managing a company, preferring instead to use flexible working hours to balance their work-family commitments better. This alone suggests that females would make excellent agency executives, given the fact that they already have multi-tasking talents.
The table is set
So, what are the advantages that females bring to the table? For a start, women are incredibly good at networking. They tend to bond quickly with other women, especially through their children, translating into their ability to grow a database of contacts very quickly. Women also tend to adjust to whatever environment they are exposed to, whether in the areas where they live, work or play or within a business structure.
Role models
So, with few female role models in SA, let's look at the global environment. There are many dynamic women who have literally become millionaires and billionaires through real estate and head up residential property businesses. It's not been a cakewalk, though, regardless of how dynamic their personality or traits are. Dottie Herman, for example, became the wealthiest self-made woman in America, in 2017, through the New York-based brokerage Douglas Elliman, of which she is now Vice Chair.
Dottie had to overcome a number of challenges: losing her mother in a car crash at age 10 to becoming a teenage mother. She worked initially in a local department store, moving on to a record shop, and finally, in the early 80s, became a regional manager at Merrill Lynch, which drove her ambitions and understanding of corporate cultures. In 2003, she and her business partner bought brokerage Douglas Elliman.
Another real estate goddess is Barbara Corcoran. She left her waitressing job at age 23, borrowed US$1000, and started a small real estate company, also in New York, which became The Corcoran Group, one of the largest and best-known brands in the brokerage business.
And then there’s billionaire Wu Yajun, who founded, along with her husband, Chongqing Zhongjianke Real Estate in 1995, later changing its name to Longfor Properties in 2005 when she became CEO. She is the third richest woman in China and is now one of the fifth richest people in the world. Her career started in a meter producing factory before moving into journalism, followed by real estate.
In Africa, there are few female real estate entrepreneurs, and those possibly worth mentioning, like Nigerian Folorunsho Alakija, have other business interests. In Folorunsho’s case, her background as one of 52 children from the first of her father’s eight wives inspired her to build a very successful oil business first before investing in a real estate development company.
Sage advice
Taking advice from this collective of women requires some deep research, but suffice to say, most agree, in one way or another, that aligning with an agency or brand that is progressive is crucial to success. If mentorship can only come from a male, then so be it, but women must add their own feminine twist to it. Other sage advice includes: elevate the ladder by holding hands with other women who are strongly motivated to build a thriving property business; be confident but don't compromise inherent grace; manoeuvre carefully through pain points; take the initiative, and if it doesn't work, it is a learning curve, not a failure; and finally, be intentional.
Writer: Kerry Dimmer