'When I Started, There Was Nobody To Ask': Women In CRE On Becoming Mentors

Amy Marsden, a senior director for The RMR Group, mentors a young woman in CRE through the Commercial Real Estate Women Network's mentorship program.

Her mentee, who works in the commercial construction sector, is the only woman on her team and asks Marsden many questions about navigating the male-dominated industry. 

Marsden, who also started her career in construction, is happy to guide her mentee through her journey, knowing the environment — though still extremely challenging for women — has come a long way since she was starting out.

“I was pretty much the only female with nobody to ask,” Marsden said Thursday on a panel at Bisnow’s annual DMV Women Leading Real Estate Awards. “I’m really glad that we have shifted away from that into a world that is becoming more equally gender-friendly.” 

Bisnow’s annual investigation into representation at the top levels of the most prominent real estate companies in the U.S. revealed that women now make up 27% of C-suites and 32% of board seats. The numbers have increased year-over-year but are still well below parity. 

Cresa Managing Principal Mindy Saffer started out on the architecture side, one of the CRE sectors with higher proportions of female representation.

“I had wonderful female mentors at that point,” Saffer said at the event, held at the Grand Hyatt Washington. 

It was a rude awakening, though, when she moved into brokerage, joining a local firm where all three partners were men.

“Literally out of my blunt ignorance that I thought that I had a voice,” she said.

By the time she joined Cresa as a managing principal — the only woman on a team with four men — she had learned that she had to fight for her right to be kept in the loop and treated as an equal member of the team.

“They had all been working together for years, and they had their patterns,” she said. “And then I realized, oh, wow, I don't matter as much here. And so I had to actually actively let them know, ‘Hey, tell me what's happening.’” 

Saffer said what she ultimately learned was that being included was important, but it was more important to be respected. And to be respected, you had to “always do the right thing,” she said.

When she is mentoring young women, ensuring they gain that respect is now the top piece of advice she gives. 

Melissa Parrish, who was most recently a regional director of leasing at BECO Management, said she is thankful to have had such a rich network of female and male mentors who have supported and advocated for her.

“My goal in my career is to be able to pay that back,” she said. “So if anybody out there listening needs somebody to talk to about career, life, whatever it is, find me and I will listen and talk to you because I know it's hard sometimes to find someone to talk to.”

Following the panel discussion, Bisnow revealed the winners in four categories honoring women in real estate who were selected by a panel of judges. The nominees were first announced in early November, with the winners revealed at the event.

Leader of the Year winner: Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Nina Albert

Rising Star winner: JLL Vice President of Brokerage Ella Cooper

Innovator of the Year winner: BlackChamber Group Chief Financial Officer Samantha Giunta

Dealmaker of the Year winner: Berkadia Senior Director Yalda Ghamarian Howell