This Women’s Day on March 08 varied programs by developers, finance institutions and other real estate organizations were launched specifically for women. But has the outlook of the realty sector really changed?
Text: Sapna Srivastava In India, women play the role of influencer or contributor either as a home buyer or as a professional working in real estate. As per industry estimates more than 70% of real estate buying decisions are taken by the family wherein women members play a major role. Moreover, home purchase by women only across the top eight cities of India has seen a sharp upward trend. Yet, the developers’ regular marketing strategies and advertising campaigns continue to be strategized towards male gender. In fact there are hardly any product offerings for single women, though they constitute a lucrative market segment. Government offers various sops to women home buyers such as lower home loan interest rates, tax deduction and lower stamp duty. Developers too can bring out schemes and products to encourage independent buying of property by women. And this should be a regular feature rather than a one-off offer reserved for a women’s day celebration. Also read http://realtyplusmag.com/the-steel-city-of-india-hits-a-century/The role of women in real estate can be viewed from two angles – as a real estate buyer and as a real-estate professional. In both the roles, the participation of women is gradually increasing, however the focus of the industry remains skewed.The scenario is even grimmer in the corporate world of real estate where women are mostly relegated to customer service, human resource or client relationship fields. Their numbers at managerial level are substantial but dwindle as we go up the ladder to the leadership positions. Too few women in boardrooms and C-suites, is a worldwide problem especially in the field of real estate. Beyond setting quotas, the solution could be stronger mid-management mentoring and better performance data to encourage women employees and at the same time create healthy parity and diversity perspective in the organization.
