PHILADELPHIA, PA—Women in commercial real estate continue to face the same gender gap challenges experienced by women in other industries, including lower pay than their male counterparts, lower levels of aspiration to the c-suite, fewer opportunities to be mentored or sponsored by senior executives, and less inclusion in social outings that can lead to career opportunities, according to the results of the latest CREW Foundation study.

Members of the Philadelphia CREW chapter gathered recently to review the results of the 2015 CREW Network Benchmark Study Report: Women in Commercial Real Estate, a periodic tracking survey of employment, hiring, and management trends in the industry affecting women.

Research findings uncovered the following gender gaps, disparities and potential bias:

• An aspiration gap exists between men and women in commercial real estate: 28 percent of women aspire to the c-suite versus 40 percent of men.
• In 2015, the industry median annual compensation was $115,000 for women and $150,000 for men – an average income gap of 23.3 percent. The income gap was widest in the c-suite at 29.8 percent.
• Women in the 2015 study ranked the lack of mentorship within their company as the #1 barrier to success, scoring the importance of continuing to focus on mentors and sponsors.
• Bias and other discriminatory practices such as ageism persist. The number of women in commercial real estate with 20+ years of experience is decreasing.

“We focus on research that talks about women in commercial real estate and reveals areas where inequality still exists,” says Jennifer Carey, CEO of JLC Environmental and chair of the CREW Network Foundation. “We found that the wage gap in commercial real estate is that women are making 23 cents less than men on every dollar. We also focus on career satisfaction, the aspiration gap between what women want vs. what men are aspiring to.”