Gender equality, or rather lack of it, in the business of real estate is a reality that no one would deny. Real estate by all means is a man’s world in this part of the world. Barring a few exceptions, where the wives or daughters of the developer have been given spotlight, a typical real estate enterprise doesn’t have a sizeable presence of women workforce. A Track2Realty Pan-India Survey.
The women workforce within the real estate companies have their own good, bad, or indifferent stories to share. But the reality is that the second largest employment generator in India has under-representation of women employees.
The business is also not attracting the female talent as a matter of career’s first choice. Is it all about the perception issues that keep the female employees away from this sector, or there are issues and malaise that run much deeper?
Facts speak for themselves. It is only less than half of the qualified women workforce, as many as 44%, who cite perception issues as primary reason to not look for real estate as a career. Not even one-third of the employable women, only 30%, would even consider real estate as a viable career option. Even among the women who are open to a real estate career, only 36% call it a long-term career choice.
These are the findings of a Pan-India survey by Track2Realty, the real estate thinktank group. The survey was aimed at root cause analysis of why the Indian real estate is under-represented and doesn’t attract best of female employees. The survey delved deeper into the gender inequality issues to assess whether it is only the perception factor that deter the employable women workforce or there are other pressing issues that need to be addressed.
The survey looked into the women under-representation in real estate workforce from the standpoint of five critical aspects – Perception Issues; Entry Barrier; Work Culture; Risk & Reward; and Work & Life Balance. It has been a qualitative survey where women respondents were called for one-on-one in-depth interviews.
No less than 68% women believe there is always a glass ceiling for them in the real estate companies. The entry barrier may or may not be explicit but it is definitely embroiled in the work atmosphere that screams it is not conducive for women to feel safe at work.
A large number of women, as many as 72%, rather question if the winds of gender-specific change has swept through the real estate then why are there no female business leaders in the sector. More than 8 out of 10, 82% to be precise, who have some exposure with the real estate companies maintain that the boardroom culture is way too weird for the female employees.
Survey Highlights
44% women cite perception issues for not taking up real estate jobs
Only 30% women consider real estate as a viable career option
As less as 36% women think real estate as a long-term career choice
68% women believe there is always a glass ceiling for them in the real estate
72% question absence of female business leaders in the sector
82% maintain the boardroom culture is way too weird for female employees
74% crib the real estate companies hire them only for support function and not leadership roles
62% say real estate employment possibilities are few and far between for married women
68% point out there has been more layoffs and furloughs with women employees post Covid
Noida and Kolkata reported the highest level of disapproval with 88% and 76% respectively.
Bengaluru (42% disapproval) and Mumbai (48% disapproval) reported the lesser level
78% women find family driven real estate enterprises prefer male employees who are available 24X7
70% believe reward in the sector is not always on merit
74% find no work & life balance with real estate jobs
84% women complain absence of basic right like maternity leave
78% of the women employees wish to avail skill development and/or career break
82% report micro-managing work culture of real estate companies
80% women would love to be part of real estate with a career in interiors
68% women find architecture & design as a better viable career option for them
A substantial number of women, as many as 74%, categorically maintain that the real estate companies hire them only for support function and not leadership roles. They are mostly hired for front office or sales & marketing jobs. For the married women the real estate employment possibilities are few and far between, as admitted by 62% respondents.
Post Covid the new-normal of Work From Home should have bridged some level of gender inequality in the sector. Right? Not really! More than two-third of women, 68% to be precise, report that there has been more layoffs and furloughs with women employees than male employees in their respective organisations.
“As a woman I don’t want special treatment. All that I want is to be allowed to work with my dignity and get rewarded for working hard. This sector doesn’t offer its female employees support and boundaries are often crossed beyond what could be called a civilised behaviour,” says Prema Narayan, a real estate employee in Noida.
In terms of the female detachment from real estate employability, there is a cultural context as well and not every major real estate market reported the same level of dissatisfaction. Noida and Kolkata reported the highest level of disapproval with 88% and 76% respectively. Bengaluru (42% disapproval) and Mumbai (48% disapproval) reported the lesser level.
Isn’t real estate a viable option for these women, at least from the standpoint of risk & reward? Not really! The shared experience of 78% women is that the management in most of the cases is so family operated that they prefer male employees who are available 24X7. The reward is not always on merit, maintain a sizeable share of respondents, as many as 70%.
“Risk & reward ratio has to be equitable and not gender-specific. But the problem is that women employees in real estate are seen as a mere support function; as someone who is only earning additional pocket money. Till the time there is a paradigm shift in the mindset and we are seen as bread earner of our families, the issue of gender inequality and under-representation would continue,” maintains Snigdha Sinha, a real estate employee in Gurugram.
There is another issue that keeps the women workforce, especially the young lot, apprehensive of real estate career. It is absence of work & life balance. 74% believe the job demands are so very unreasonable that it is practically not possible to have work & life balance while working with this sector. Even greater in number, as many as 84%, maintain that the nature of business is so unorganized that even a basic need of asking for maternity leave results to getting fired.
“Don’t you think maternity leave is a basic and fundamental right of every woman professional? But when I asked for it, I was categorically told to resign as the under-staffed company would immediately need a replacement for my role. After having given my good seven years to this real estate company this is not the kind of treatment that I deserved,” rues Swati Agrawal in Hyderabad.
A career break for higher education or skill development is what 78% of the women employees wish to avail. Most of the women maintain, as high as 82%, that the micro-managing work culture of real estate companies is too stressful to handle.
Is there any silver lining that raises some hope? The survey noted that the rejection for real estate career is mostly limited to working with the construction companies. A good number of qualified women maintain that they are open for a rewarding career in real estate beyond construction firms. 80% women would love to be part of real estate with a career in interiors. 68% women find architecture & design as a better viable career option for them.
The survey is a clear reminder that despite the verbal commitment of leading real estate companies and industry bodies the fact lies that career-oriented women are not enthused with the work culture of real estate. Reasons are beyond just perception and as diverse as workplace bullying towards women to socializing, and inability to fit into a job that in many cases also demands coping with the male banter.
Track2Realty is an independent media group managed by a consortium of journalists. Starting as the first e-newspaper in the Indian real estate sector in 2011, the group has today evolved as a think-tank on the sector with specialized research reports and rating & ranking. We are editorially independent and free from commercial bias and/or influenced by investors or shareholders. Our editorial team has no clash of interest in practicing high quality journalism that is free, frank & fearless.
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