Leveling the commercial real estate playing field | Miami Herbert Business School

Joined by the University of Miami’s School of Architecture and School of Law, the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School recently held a Women Leaders in Real Estate networking event that facilitated conversations between students and several businesswomen who lead South Florida’s commercial real estate scene. 

According to the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network, women represent just 36.7 percent of commercial real estate workers, including brokers, developers, financial experts, and asset managers.

Moreover, women hold only 9 percent of commercial real estate’s C-suite positions and are paid 56 percent less for commissions and bonuses, making for a statistical imbalance Miami Herbert finds untenable.

“Commercial real estate is an industry where women are chronically underrepresented,” Miami Herbert Professor of Finance Andrea Heuson said at the Women Leaders in Real Estate event, sponsored by the Vagabond Group LLC. “And if you think about residential real estate, men are somewhat chronically underrepresented there.

“In commercial real estate, and here in Miami especially, we have a lot of really successful women,” added Heuson, who oversees Miami Herbert’s Accelerated MBA in Real Estate program. “Some are in development, some are in brokerage, some are in capital markets. Many of them are alumni of the University, and all of them that are here tonight want to meet and mentor students.”

With those objectives in mind, Women Leaders in Real Estate attendees convened in a THesis Hotel in Miami. Groups of three to four students spent 15 minutes at each table, where they chatted earnestly with women experts in commercial real estate before moving to the next table. 

“It’s really motivating to be here,” said Vera Socolsky, a student in Herbert Miami’s Accelerated MBA in Real Estate program. “These women’s career trajectories are inspirational and it’s motivating to hear from them.”

“I have been in this business now a good 35 years,” said Tere Blanca, a double ’Cane, and founder, chairman, and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate. “I started three years after I graduated from my master’s program at UM, and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the creativity, the rich experiences that we have, and the relationships that we build. And I love being a big part of the community at the ground level.”

Like the other businesswomen who attended the event, Blanca didn’t talk much about her experiences as a woman in a male-dominated industry. Instead, she focused on how perseverance, working smart, and enjoying what she does for a living created pathways to success.

Avra Jain, whose Vagabond Group LLC refurbished the Vagabond Hotel and other 1950s-era hotels on Miami’s Upper Eastside, stressed that she tends to focus on her performance, rather than her gender.

“Real estate is never about one person—think about it! It’s way too big a space,” Jain said as she waited for additional Women Leaders in Real Estate students to engage in speed mentoring. 

“It’s important for other women in the space to know that I also chair the board of the Master of Real Estate Development  & Urbanism program, which is made up of mostly men. And they chose me to do that. We all play really well in the sandbox, and I never feel like I’m discounted as a woman.”

The event proved to be a success, fostering a space where the future and present of women in commercial real estate could converge and celebrate progress while acknowledging the road ahead. It served not only as a platform for networking but also as a platform of inspiration and empowerment for women aiming to break into or advance within the industry.

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