An Australian initiative that celebrates the success and achievements of women in real estate is gaining local and international traction, with a series of events scheduled to take place in 2018.
Real Women in Real Estate is a networking group founded by Real Estate Institute of NSW President and Laing+Simmons Managing Director Leanne Pilkington, and since its inception has attracted over 700 members.
The forum provides a space for women to talk about the challenges of a traditionally male-dominated industry, while workshopping solutions and providing empowerment. The group hosts regular networking events entitled ‘Catch up with the property girls’ in key CBD and regional areas.
Now it’s garnering not just a national but an international following.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Ms Pilkington explained. “While we knew there was an appetite among women in the industry for a forum to empower them professionally – to enable them to workshop solutions to the various challenges we face – we are nonetheless surprised by just how quickly the group has expanded.
“This year we anticipate reaching the 1,000-member mark, we’ve secured some outstanding guest speakers to the events and we’re going to new locations.”
Among those new locations is a trip ‘stateside’, with plans for Real Women in Real Estate to catch up with like-minded women in Los Angeles in June.
Next year the group will take on an even more international flavour, meeting in New York in June 2019, with tentative plans in place to take the initiative to London and Paris in July.
Meanwhile, there are a series of local events set to take place across Australia in the coming months and women within the real estate industry are encouraged to attend.
“We encourage all women working in property, irrespective of their specialty or level of experience, to get in touch and come along. There are many valuable experiences and solutions to be shared, connections to be made and, of course, good times to be had,” Ms Pilkington said.
One of Ms Pilkington’s key passions, and a focus of her tenure as REINSW President, is to encourage more women to take the next step into business ownership.
“Women make up around half of agents working in real estate, yet at the business ownership level the percentage is significantly less. One of the key takeouts of the Real Women in Real Estate initiative is providing women who aspire to business ownership with the advice, tools and techniques to achieve this goal,” she explained.
The next ‘Catch up with the property girls’ event is in Newcastle on Tuesday, February 13, with dates around the country to follow.
Key dates:
Newcastle – February, May and November
Sydney – March, May and October
Melbourne – February, May and October/November
Adelaide – February, May and September
Perth – February/March, May and September
Brisbane – February/March, May and September
Gold Coast – May 26 (the night before the AREC Conference)
For full details or to get involved, check the website www.rwire.com.au or contact Leanne Pilkington at leanne.pilkington@lsre.com.au.
