More women join UAE real estate sector

The property sector in the UAE is witnessing a marked increase in the number of women professionals. The sector had long been considered a man's area of expertise, but not so any more in the UAE.

Speaking to Emirates Business in a roundtable interview, Elaine Jones, CEO, Asteco Property Management; Linda Mahoney, CEO, Better Homes; Heather Wipperman Amiji, CEO, Investment Boutique; Tatjana Fuhr, Legal Consultant at Fichte & Co, said that women in the property sector are drawing an equal remuneration as men.

Mahoney said: "Gender is not an issue in remuneration as long as the job gets done."

Amiji said: "Women and men in our organisation receive an equal pay, a function of their line of business as well as their professional level within that business line."

"Since starting our firm five years ago, my work force has changed from 10 per cent of our overall staff being females to 40 per cent of our overall staff being females. Further, there are now a higher number of professional women working within our organisation, while previously they were more limited to administrative roles."

Asteco's Jones said that while the physical side of construction will probably remain a predominantly male area, the planning, design and operation of property is heavily populated by women. "The ongoing asset management and daily operations of property are perhaps more popular with women as they require organised and practical mindsets with the ability to multi-task."

Excerpts:

The property and construction sector has for long been considered to be a man's area but we have seen a number of women becoming actively involved in real estate and the construction sector in the UAE. What's  your call?

Jones: While the physical side of construction is and will probably remain a predominantly male area, the planning, design and operation of property is heavily populated by women. The ongoing asset management and daily operations of property are perhaps more popular with women as they require organised and practical mindsets with the ability to multi-task.

Mahoney: The construction industry's key component is engineering, which has predominantly attracted men. The property industry, on the other hand, attracts a broad range of professional disciplines that include investors, advisors, surveyors and brokers that tend to be both men and women.

Wipperman: It's true that the property and construction sectors have long been dominated by the male workforce. However, the construction sector in particular has long been characterised by advanced degrees and experience in mathematics, physics and engineering. Such programmes have historically been male dominated, only recently opening up to and being supportive of female students. Only recent generations have had the benefit of proper education and training in these sectors. There are limited women in senior management roles or in positions to act as mentors, which makes success a challenge in any industry.

The UAE is a young country, with an even younger real estate and construction sector. Further, more than half of its short history has been dominated by rapid economic growth and real estate development required to support the economic pace. These conditions have given rise to sectors primarily dominated by meritocracy rather than gender roles and restrictions.

Local and regional investors and clients alike have a tendency to seek out those with the strongest reputations and track records irrespective of whether they are male or female, young or old, Eastern or Western. In short, clients in this part of the world simply want the best. This attitude has, in my experience, given rise to one of the most equalitarian models of working in the property and real estate sectors globally. I would comment that my perspective is one of a young, Western female property executive. As such, I cannot comment on the situation for local women in these sectors and my knowledge of conditions in construction is based on third-party information.

Fuhr: Having invested in property and being a lawyer myself, soon after the economic downturn I started researching the legal situation for my own case. The legal framework was not sufficient to resolve all the legal issues that were about to come up between developers and investors.

Everything was new to everybody – be it government, court, arbitration centres or legal practitioners. From the very early beginning of the crisis, I followed up closely all discussions about real estate law, the issuances of government statements, circulars, laws and decrees. A lot of investors are seeking our legal advice and I am in charge of these cases. I never felt any discrimination whatsoever.

Q: How many women have you hired within your organisation in the past one year? Have you looked to hire more women than men during the downturn in the real estate and construction sector?

Jones: As an organisation we are pretty balanced at a 50-50 split between male and female ratio and that will be reflected in the new recruits we have engaged in the last six months. We recruit people based on ability with pay and benefits being equal regardless of their gender.

Mahoney: We have never differentiated between men and women when hiring for any of our departments over the years. We have experienced that more women than men apply for work as leasing and sales consultants. However, this trend was market-driven and was not encouraged by us.

Wipperman: Since starting our firm five years ago, my work force has changed from 10 per cent of our overall staff being females to 40 per cent of our overall staff being females. Further, there are now a higher number of professional women working within our organisation, while previously they were more limited to administrative roles.

Although we've not sought to hire more women during the market correction than men or vice versa, a number of women I have spoken with are more willing to work on a project-by-project basis versus a full-time role. As such, you may see a higher percentage of women in real estate related roles during the market turn as the consulting model allows employers to match costs and revenues more effectively.

Fuhr: At the beginning of the crisis, we slowed down hiring staff since we did not know where the crisis would take us. When we started hiring again, we did so regardless of the sex of the candidate, if he/she had the required competences, we would hire him/her on the basis of his/her expertise.

Have your women employees been able to handle the downturn in the real estate and construction sector better than men?

Jones: This is such a broad question as individuals have been faced with a variety of circumstances. What is apparent is that both female and male staff have given an overwhelming support to colleagues who have needed it.

Mahoney: We have noticed no such trends; for all our consultants, the individual circumstances determine their professional decisions, and not their gender.

Wipperman: I have not witnessed an overall trend where women are able to deal with the market down-turn better than men or vise versa. What I would say is if someone is either the sole or primary breadwinner for their family, there is greater pressure for them to provide financial and environmental stability. If someone contributes a supplementary income to the household, they are often able to deal with uncertainty better.

Fuhr: No, we did not observe any difference in this respect.

Have you made redundant your female employees more than your male employees during the downturn?

Jones: No, gender is not relevant and the positions made redundant have not been replaced. Our redundancies were certain transactional positions and our new recruits are predominantly property management.

Mahoney: The gender difference has never been a consideration.

Wipperman: During the economic downturn, people have been let go if their particular business line is not performing well and their individual performance is inferior to that of their peers. We've not addressed gender as an issue when considering redundancies.

Fuhr: During summer, when schools closed down for two month we offered our employees to extend their vacation as unpaid leave. This offer had been highly appreciated by our female staff. This way they could spend time with their kids, travel to their home country and flee from the heat in Dubai. This offer had less success with our male colleagues. Fortunately some time after the summer, business was picking up again.

Q: Are men and women in the property sector receiving an equal remuneration as men?

Jones: They are at Asteco.

Mahoney: For us, gender is not an issue in remuneration as long as the job gets done. Our sales consultants are assessed on their revenue generation, key performance indicators (KPIs) and customer service, none of which is gender-related.

Wipperman: Yes, women and men in our organisation receive equal pay, which is a function of their line of business as well as their professional level within that business line.

Fuhr: Under the premise that expertise and qualifications are equal, there is no difference in women's or man's remuneration as a legal consultant.

Do you believe women need to work harder than men when it comes to executing a property sale transaction?

Jones: No, I don't think they work harder necessarily but the approach is often different depending on who the interface is with. In some situations, I think for example family residential property, women are better suited than men as they are more able to relate to the needs of the client. On industrial premises, we tend to have male staff on commercial retail and for young executives a pretty equal mix of men and women. As an organisation, we try to have as wide a variety of nationality and age profiles as possible so that we are able to service the incredibly cosmopolitan mix of the Emirates and regional population.

Mahoney: Being a good salesperson takes a special talent but it is not gender dependent. In our experience, the client is looking for the company and a consultant, who will give him the best service possible.

Wipperman: Under current market conditions I believe all employees within the property sector need to work hard in order to execute a property sale transaction. Those who succeed are knowledgeable about market dynamics and intelligence. These professionals are able to establish themselves as a trusted advisor with sound advice and a practical knowledge of how to achieve results. Property professionals looking to 'do a deal' to the determent of the purchaser or who are being nothing more than an order taker have no role in the new market conditions.

Fuhr: No

Q: Are there particular features and personality traits that help women fare better than men?

Jones: To be effective in our work, we need to understand what the client needs, listen and provide excellent customer service and follow up. Women are sometimes more organised and able to follow processes and systems which naturally makes them more effective but we also have some excellent men working with us who are able to do the same.

Mahoney: In my experience, women may be more patient when it comes to residential property as they are often dealing with other women, who are often interested in the finer details of the home. Again, this is a broad generalisation as I haven't experienced any gender-specific trends in the UAE property sector.

Wipperman: I think it would be wrong to make sweeping generalisations about 'women's attributes' vs 'men's' and how this helps them succeed or fail in real estate and construction sectors. A man and woman can be much more similar than two men and two women. As stated previously, the key success factors in today's market are professionalism, preparedness, flexibility, reliability/trustworthiness and longevity.

Fuhr: Women are said to have more empathy, which might be helpful for a legal consultant specialised in real estate. Especially European Investors have to cope with a lot of uncertainties like, can I trust the legal system in UAE?, Is Arbitration in UAE up to international standards? Is my money still in my escrow account? Aren't legal procedures long and costly? As Legal Consultants we have to take these concerns and uncertainties of our clients into consideration in order to find the most suitable solution for each case. Not everybody is made for fighting a case through till the very end.

I represented several clients in their legal dispute with developers and I have won an arbitration award in my own real estate case. I experienced the legal system in UAE as fair and I did not encounter any discrimination against me as a women.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.