Real Estate has been known for being traditionally male-dominated, with only women occupying just 30% of senior management positions according to PwC and Real Estate Balance.
Are things starting to change for the better? Or have programmes such as Selling Sunset enforced damaging gender stereotypes?
For International Women’s Day 2022, we sat down with Joanna Clyne, the lettings director of Beyond Property, to discuss what the Real Estate industry is really like for women.
Hi Jo, can you introduce yourself?
I’m Joanna Clyne, and I’ve been in the industry for the last thirty odd years. I started in property when I was sixteen and I went on a YTS programme through Scott’s Estate Agents in Prestwich for about two years.
After that, I went to join Savills, working in the office as an admin person. They then set up a residential team and asked me to join the team, which I did. I started out with admin and then became a lettings negotiator, working in town. We won our first pitch, which was Chorlton Mill and I was based there for two or three years, selling apartments.
After Savills, I moved to London and joined Savills London and was there for seven years, where I did sales, not lettings.
The property market crash came and I fell pregnant and came back to Manchester to work for Jones Lang LaSalle doing lettings. I then moved to Julie Twist Properties and worked there for a couple of years.
After that I joined the private equity company, Infinity. Around thirteen years ago they asked me to set up Beyond Residential, now known as Beyond Property. And I’ve been here ever since.
Have you ever experienced sexism in the industry? Or been made to feel uncomfortable?
I honestly can say I haven’t. When I first joined, it was a really male-oriented industry and everyone I worked with were all men. There really wasn’t a lot of female lettings negotiators, but luckily, I never had any problems. I’m not sure if that’s because I have a tough exterior.
I can tell you about a time I felt intimidated by a man…
It was an October evening, so it was dark, and I confirmed an appointment with someone wanting to look at a house. I got there and a guy was stood there with a hoodie on. I don’t know what it was, maybe a gut instinct, but I just felt really uncomfortable. I had been doing property viewings since I was sixteen and this was only about five years ago, so it’s not a feeling I had felt before.
I thought to myself, “I can go in and I might live to regret it, or I can make an excuse to be safe.” And I decided to make an excuse. I rang him with an excuse and told him I’d give him a call the next day to rearrange.
And I did try to call him the next day, but there was no answer and I never heard anything more. It could have been innocent, but there was something in my gut which told me to walk away. It was weird that he didn’t call back for a viewing, so I was glad that I chose to trust my gut. I’ve never had any other incidents like that, that was the only time.
Do you think there’s pressure on women in Real Estate to live up to the flirty, glamorous stereotypes we see on programmes such as Selling Sunset?
There never used to be, but 100% now in the last couple of years. Every property programme you watch you see that same stereotype. I definitely think it’s changed for the worse as these stereotypes can be really damaging for young girls.
Since you started out in the industry, do you think Real Estate is becoming less male-oriented? How have things changed?
You definitely see more women lettings negotiators, and in offices there’s a lot more women. When I first went to London in 2004 it was very male-oriented. There are more opportunities for women now.
It has definitely changed for the better and there are more women in this industry for sure.
Do you think that there’s any obstacles women face when getting into the industry?
I think sometimes men still think that they want to speak man on man. If a woman comes in and is trying to pitch or sell something, they may think that she doesn’t know enough or doesn’t know the right information.
I think there is still some pressure on women to prove themselves when they shouldn’t have to. It’s definitely changing and getting better.
What advice would you give to women wanting to start out in the Real Estate industry?
Just stand your ground. You’re always going to get someone who’s going to try to intimidate you and make you feel small. Or bully you and try to make you think that you’re not up to it.
Learn as much as you can, know your information.
Get your qualifications. That’s definitely a big one, which I didn’t do, but in this day in age, it’s so important to get your property qualifications.
How does Beyond Property support gender equality?
Everyone is treated the same. If you can do the job, you’ll have the same opportunities as everyone. We have a good culture and a good team and I don’t think anyone would be negative or prejudice.
Beyond’s board of Directors collectively welcome a driven workforce from any background, religion or race. The true backbone of the business ethos is built on a competent and capable team, and true characters are always welcomed. It’s our individualities and differences that make us strong.
That’s great to hear. Thank you for your time, Jo.
Beyond Property are also a supporter of the 17 Global Goals which aim to end poverty and fight inequality across the world. At Beyond, we support equal pay for equal work for all of our employees. We are aware of gender stereotypes, and we recognise them, avoid them, and educate others about them.
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