Commercial real estate has never been a bastion of general equality, says JLL. But movement on the proptech front shows what can, and should, happen across the industry, because otherwise it's a waste of expertise, hard work, and potential.

"Women own and manage less than 3% of commercial real estate," JLL wrote. "They hold just 9% of C-suite positions at real estate firms. Female founded or co-founded real estate companies represent just 2% of the $3.2 trillion of private capital raised, according to PERE data, while an Association of Investment Companies (AIC) study found just 6% of fund managers are women."

However, last year, proptech showed how things can change. Women-led companies pulled down more than $1.5 billion in funding, according to a 2023 end-of-year post by the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation.