How Women-Friendly Is The Real Estate Sector?

Bricksnwall Trusted Experts

According to a recent CREDAI-MCHI study, slightly more than a third (36%) of the women polled see real estate as a desirable career path.

On the other side, over two-thirds (64%) of men felt the same way. Additionally, not everything is rosy at the top. Only 23% of real estate firms' top roles are held by women. The bad news is that this number is still fairly low, despite the fact that it has increased over the past ten years. 

The perception that the industry isn't very hospitable to women is a major contributor to the gender gap that already exists. Employing women in the real estate industry has long been difficult. Women continue to be underrepresented in this sector while making up a sizeable portion of the workforce in the country. Their participation is crucial to bringing in diverse viewpoints and opinions, which will result in more inventive and fruitful solutions. According to Vishal Thakkar, founder and CEO of a real estate company, stakeholders in the sector must step up their outreach efforts to recruit women to the industry for a variety of employment roles in order to promote women's participation. 

The number of women who own property has decreased in 11 of the 22 states, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5.

This is true despite the fact that women in India have been gaining ground in the workplace and receiving benefits associated to homeownership including reduced interest rates on home loans and stamp duty. 

However, experts think that just giving exemptions and discounts won't be sufficient to close the gender gap. It is vital to address structural problems that prevent women from accessing education and career opportunities, such as unequal pay and social standards. 

"Policy-wise, it is necessary to place special emphasis on enhancing property ownership for economically disadvantaged women from vulnerable sections of the society," says Aarti Harbhajanka, managing director of a real estate consultancy firm. All government-funded social housing developments must require women's ownership, similar to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), which mandates women's shared ownership in all homes. Similar to this, slum redevelopment initiatives that offer free housing should encourage combined home ownership. 

On a practical level, developers and state governments can help by improving the infrastructure surrounding the project to make homeownership more accessible to women. "Infrastructure and amenities in residential areas should be improved with women's comfort and safety in mind."

This includes areas with sufficient lighting, public transit, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and recreation areas. The presence of female sales reps and real estate brokers also encourages women to explore the concept of homeownership.

To make it easier for women to own homes and live in them, security measures at residential properties should be implemented. According to Ashish Narain Agarwal, founder and CEO of a full-stack real estate service company, even developers have prioritized women's opinions by giving them tailored options through Women's Day schemes, rebates, or focusing on their tastes through custom designs in residential apartments and amenities, among other things.