In honor of Women’s History Month, we’d like to recognize the incredible achievements of women in real estate. When the National Association of Realtors was founded in 1908, membership was 100% male. Decades later the landscape had drastically changed as women became the majority of NAR by 1978. Last year, women made up 62% of all Realtors and 61% of NAR brokers.
Given the flexibility and earning potential of real estate agents, it makes sense that women are drawn to the profession. Men’s involvement in domestic labor has increased over the years, but the division remains disproportionate. A 2023 Pew Research report found that even when women are the primary breadwinners, they still spend more time on housework and caregiving than their male partners. The pandemic was a clear representation of this role as women’s participation in the labor force dropped from 74.5% to 63.4% in April 2020.
Because women are primarily responsible for household management, careers that offer flexibility and no income cap are understandably appealing. In fact, these conditions are so desirable that they were a considerable driver in the success of RE/MAX, one of the largest real estate companies in the world. Co-founders Dave and Gail Liniger noted that their ability to recruit female agents in the mid-70s was a significant part of their early business model.
Circling back to heads of households, single women also surpass their male counterparts when it comes to homeownership. In 2021, LendingTree reported that single women owned roughly 10.7 million homes while 8.1 million homes were owned by single men. Additionally, the 2022 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that 17% of buyers were single women, compared to 10% single men.
There are still plenty of areas that need improvement as the majority of female Realtors practice residential real estate. Commercial real estate consists of only 36.7% women. Like many sectors, there are substantial pay gaps within real estate. Female brokers and agents made 78 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2021. Inman News also reports that women in real estate earn about $6,662 less than men per year.
However, there’s a silver lining for Toledoans. According to findings from Inman News in 2022, “The city was ranked the No. 1 metro area for women working in real estate, based on metrics of the gender pay gap, the percentage of women who make up the real estate workforce, the five-year growth rate for women in real estate and the median income of women real estate professionals.”
Women real estate professionals in Toledo make 136% of the earnings of men in the industry and have an average annual income of $78,782– the fifth highest average salary for females in real estate in the country. Between 2017 to 2021, women saw a 98% employment increase in Toledo’s real estate industry.
Ladies reign supreme at Danberry, as well! We’re proud to have a woman co-owner, Maggie Fawcett, and many women in leadership roles— including 54% of our managing Realtors. The 2024 Danberry President’s Sales Club, our top producing Realtors based on 2023 sales volume, had 15 women in the top 20 positions for solo agents. Four out of six top-selling teams were led by women.
When you consider that most local Realtor associations restricted female membership until the 50s and banks had the legal right to refuse loans to women until 1974, it’s astounding to see how our industry has progressed. There are inequities yet to address and glass ceilings to shatter, but the strength and entrepreneurial acumen of women certainly shines bright in real estate.