To all the agents in the house,
The majority of real estate agents are women, but few women lead top brokerages.
Dottie Herman stepped down as CEO of Douglas Elliman Tuesday after 18 years leading the New York City-based residential brokerage. To nobody's surprise, Scott Durkin replaced Herman. Durkin already served as Elliman's President and Chief Operating Officer.
The switch in Elliman leadership, though, does mean that of the 10 largest brokerages in the U.S. by sales volume, only one, Hanna Real Estate Services, has a female CEO. Helen Hanna Casey, the daughter of former company CEO Howard Hanna, helms the family-led, Pittsburgh-based brokerage.
Expand that list out to the top 20 brokerages, using RealTrends' 2020 sales volume figures, and there are just three female CEOs. The others are Brenda Tushaus of RE/MAX Results and Bess Freedman of New York City-based Brown Harris Stevens.
The lack of women in business leadership positions is an amply documented issue of the U.S. economy. But in residential real estate, unlike, say, the male bastions of Silicon Valley tech or Wall Street finance, the issue is perhaps even more glaring, because 64% of agents are women, according to a National Association of Realtors survey released this April.
To be sure, women are in important leadership positions. Sue Yannacconne heads Realogy's sprawling franchise network, and Pam Liebman is the long-time CEO and public face of Realogy brand Corcoran. Sherry Chris heads Realogy Expansion Brands (ERA and Better Homes and Gardens). Also, HousingWire recently awarded Hilary Saunders, chief broker officer and co-founder of Side, as a 2021 HW Woman of Influence
Still, there are other leadership positions that can cut both ways. Many top brokerages do have women as Chief Financial Officers, and the optics, if not substance, of this can be embarrassing. During earnings calls, it's the female CFO's job to dutifully prepare and state financial numbers. It's the male CEO's job to explain what those numbers mean.
Agents, why do you think there are so few women CEOs at brokerages? Also, how might a man leading a majority female agent workforce affect the operations and vision of your brokerage?
Please email me anonymously, mblake@housingwire.com.
SIncerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate Reporter
P.S. My magnum opus on the conflict between homebuilders and real estate agents is out now! Please read it! It's behind the subscription paywall, and subscriptions are how HousingWire is financially able to do actual, in-depth journalism. There are reduced subscription rates, if you and your team do a group membership rate. Click here to learn about not just discounts, but other membership benefits. One is doing Q&As with me and other HousingWIre staff, where you can directly ask us about stories and suggest what we should be covering. Thank you!
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