Why do so few women reach the top in real estate?
Despite representing an estimated 37% of commercial real estate professionals globally, women occupy only about 14% of C-suite roles. In many organisations, even where women make up the majority of employees, there are no women at all in senior leadership.
So what is really holding women back from the CEO seat? Is it a pipeline issue, or a promotion barrier? Is leadership culture still too often a boys’ club?
These were the courageous questions we put on the table on December 2nd at the HR Partners CEO Roundtable on Women in Real Estate at the beautiful Mozart Hotel in Prague. Around the table sat leading female voices from across the real estate landscape – spanning development, advisory, investment, fund management and legal services.
We were honoured to welcome Marta Prazakova, Executive Vice Chairwoman of the Board at Trade Centre Praha, Magda Pokorna, Chief Corporate Officer at Crestyl development company, Katarína Brydone, Managing Director of Colliers Czech Republic, Radka Novak, International Partner and Head of Office Agency CEE at Cushman & Wakefield, Martina Juzova, Investment Director at Wood Real Estate, Thu Nga Haskovcova, Partner at Haskovcova & Co law firm and Olga Kaizar, Partner at Rowan Legal.
The takeaway
Progress doesn’t happen automatically. Having many women in the workforce does not guarantee women in leadership. The challenge is not entering the industry – it’s moving up. And without intentional action, the gap will remain.
