At the beginning of the year, the UK's first female Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed the country was "leading the change for gender equality" across the G7 group after a government-backed report showed that women occupy more than 43% of roles on company boards.

It marked a year-on-year increase and also meant the voluntary target of 40% female board representation by the end of 2025 is being achieved by FTSE350 businesses. But Reeves warned UK businesses not to rest on their laurels, urging leaders to continue with work to "break down the barriers that stop many women being represented in decision-making roles".

The campaign theme for this year's International Women's Day, which takes place on Saturday 8 March, focuses on accelerating action for gender parity, with data from the World Economic Forum suggesting this will not be achieved before 2158 at the current rate of progress.

CoStar News spoke to leading female real estate figures in the UK ahead of IWD to discuss their route into the sector, how they think the industry is faring on gender parity and what businesses can do to support more women to land senior roles.

Natalie Lelliott, founder of office agency group TLG London, describes the experience of setting up and running her own property business as challenging but "incredibly rewarding".

After spending more than a decade at CBRE and Colliers, she decided to go solo at the end of 2022, pursing an entrepreneurial itch "she had to scratch" to run her own firm.

Lelliott says it "blows her mind" that there aren't more women-led property companies and believes the sector has a long way to go before more women feel they can do the same.

"The main reason I founded TLG was because I reached a point in my career where I had complete trust in my own instincts and convictions. At times, too many voices in the room can lead to a 'death by committee' situation, where decisions become diluted and less effective.

"In this specific instance, I'm a solo founder and solo entrepreneur in this venture and, while that is naturally quite daunting, it is also incredibly exhilarating at the same time."

She adds: "I think we do need to do more to support women, not only in our own teams, but also backing each other across the whole industry. That can be women starting their own property businesses or pushing for a seat in the boardroom."

In December, research published by Real Estate Balance, the industry body for equity, highlighted "stubborn under-representation of women in senior leadership positions", with the sector falling short when compared with data from FTSE 250 companies.

The group report argued that there are "plenty of women with the knowledge, skill and experience" to occupy middle management roles, despite its findings that the percentage of women in this positions had fallen since 2022.

Lelliott says there are a “huge number of factors” why more women aren’t landing senior roles, including the challenge of balancing childcare responsibilities with partners, as well as the increasing cost of childcare.

She says her family are fortunate given that her husband's work allows for some flexibility. But she argues that the property sector should be making efforts to be more accommodating for parents, and to create a more supportive environment.

Lelliott says: "The industry can’t afford to keep doing things the same old way. When you compare our industry against so many others, we are still quite archaic and quite behind compared to where other sectors are.

"It really is time to start driving this change and building a more inclusive, stronger, future and that really is what I’m inspiring to do both as a leader and ultimately within the culture of my own business."

The TLG founder believes celebrating women can play an important role in empowering those working in the property industry and increase their visibility when applying for senior roles.

She feels women don’t often get the recognition they deserve at work, adding that they can be seen as a threat rather than an ally, including by other women.

"As an industry we need to do a better job of celebrating and elevating women’s contributions. I always say that I’m proud to be unapologetically ambitious.

"Every business has its own culture, but I think we need to create a culture where we are amplifying each other’s voice and talents, [and] we are recognising different personalities. Everyone wins ultimately when we lift each other up.”

She adds: "I think there has always been a bit of a misconception that women in leadership-type roles are unapproachable and unrelatable, because if you’re successful you are automatically put into that category.

“I make a real point to challenge that and to be approachable and relatable to the next wave of talent coming through."

“On the whole, I don’t think my gender should or does – in most cases – define how I am treated,” Selena Ohlsson, director of real estate client solutions team at Federated Hermes, tells CoStar News.

"I work with a lot of great people who treat me no differently, I genuinely feel that. But that’s not always been the case.”

Ohlsson, who has worked in property for more than a decade, says people in the industry are a lot more willing to stand up against things that "aren’t right", but believes as a whole it could do more to attract more young women into the profession.

The Federated Hermes director echoes the argument that “giving credit where credit is due” and showcasing their success would help put women in the spotlight and encourage young women leaving school or university into real estate.

"There are plenty of charities and other programmes run to try and entice or inform young women about what investment services and investment management as a whole is, also work experience programmes.

"I think for the industry and companies to support young woman coming through is the best way to address future, senior women representation. That comes with things like mentoring, or having very clear and loud representation, and celebration of women at senior level.

“Creating the right environment and support for new joiners, things like unconscious bias training for recruitment managers, things like that are helpful.”

Ohlsson, who is the co-chair of the Gender Committee at Federated Hermes, also stresses the importance of supportive networks for all property professionals, adding that she is involved in numerous groups, both formal and casual, where people share career experiences and advice.

She advises those working in real estate to start networking early, explaining that having exposure to people with experience at all levels has been useful. She says men must also be vocal allies in helping to create an environment "where all voices are heard, and equally valued".

Ohlsson adds: "I’m part of an informal [maternity leave] returners network, so I set up a returners real estate network with a couple of industry friends and we have a monthly dinner, and it’s open to our connections and people that we know who are also returning.

"We can address some personal feelings about it, promotion processes, other common themes, pay scales, childcare issues, those sorts of things."

Ohlsson explains that Federated Hermes is hosting a handful of activities in the run-up to International Women’s Day to promote gender parity, including a celebrity speaker for staff, training sessions and mixers.

Overall she says she feels "really positive" about the next generation of female property professionals coming through because they “expect more and put up with less”. "I like that a lot because they are going to push change by just approach alone, which is good."

Laura Collins, development director at Stanhope, tells CoStar News she felt the pressure of being the first woman through the door when she joined the operations team.

Having joined the company from Rider Levett Bucknall in 2019, Collins says she was conscious of trying to avoid ruining the opportunity for herself or other women, stressing the significance of female leaders in the industry.

"I think that you need champions, that’s what it comes down to,” she says. "You need them there, as well as building your network. It’s very important."

Collins’ career at Stanhope has been a series of firsts. As well as being the first on the operations team, she was project director on Warwick Court, thought to be the first project team on a major London development consisting of entirely women at a senior level, read here.

She was also the first person at the firm to begin compressed working after returning from maternity leave, working a five-day week in four days. Collins says this was a “big change” from the norm given it happened before the pandemic.

She says the flexibility afforded to her by Stanhope allows her to be a mother as well as a top property professional. “It was on my shoulders to prove that compressed working could work so it could open the doors to other people to do the same.

"So, there was probably a little more pressure on me because you are thinking that you have got to set a good example because there are other people involved here, it wasn’t just about me and my circumstances away from work."

But Collins feels conflicted about International Women’s Day. She argues that gender parity should be on the agenda all year round, not just for one day a year. She too points out that the achievements of top-performing property professionals should be celebrated regularly and loudly.

This is because she believes it can help to promote the industry to new talent for those not thinking about a career in the sector and give it a helping hand when competing with other sectors, such as the technology sector. “I don’t think it’s a question just for women,” Collins says.

"We all really struggle to attract people into the property world. How do we promote ourselves [to show] that it is a brilliant industry to work in because I love my job, I’ve really enjoyed the last 20 years.

"With social media everywhere these days, you don’t know who’s looking at it and who could pick it up and think, ‘actually that is a really varying and rewarding career that opens doors to many different experiences and I hadn’t thought about that before’.

"We need to ask ourselves the question about why people would want to come and work for us when they have other opportunities and stand out from the rest."

Louise Ioannou, head of workspace HB Reavis UK, says she had a more unconventional route into real estate, having taken Applied English Language Studies at Reading University.

This meant Ioannou started her career in marketing and advertising, working for brands like Gucci, before taking on HB Reavis as a client at marketing agency Sectorlight. Having worked with the design, development and leasing teams at the international workspace provider, she joined its UK team in 2017.

Ioannou describes her marketing background as an asset to her career in real estate leasing. "I used to deliver the marketing to help sell our 'products' and now I’m positioned to evolve the workplace product and present myself.

"Typically, leasing managers and leasing agents are very involved in the marketing process, but I think my strength comes from having a client facing, marketing background and understanding how to engage with our occupiers”.

Like others, she believes that the property can do a much better job of raising its profile and generating interest at the grassroots level to improve workforce diversity.

But she says this should also focus on socioeconomic and ethnic diversity as well gender, arguing that a varied workforce can lead to companies delivering better workspaces, services and internal processes.

"We are trying to create value through our workspaces and deliver real estate that appeals to a broad sector of society and community, "Ioannou says. "You can’t expect your product to be appealing if it is only designed through the lens of one demographic.

“That is the reason why you need to have diverse people working within the industry and across projects".

She adds: "We need to make sure our product is attractive and accessible to everyone. So that is one of the reasons why I think we need to have diversity within the company that we work for."

Ioannou has noticed improvements for women working at HB Reavis across her time at the firm which spans almost a decade. This includes more women in senior roles and improved maternity policies giving flexibility and financial comfort.

The head of UK workspace for HB Reavis returned from maternity leave around 18 months ago and believes one of the ways the industry, like other sectors, can help mothers to continue advancing in their careers is by supporting men who are parents.

"In order to support women I think the industry, along with others, needs to continue to enable and support men with flexible work policies, which in turn, will help their partners stay in work as well."

Nina Zeilerbauer, co-founder of real estate recruitment firm Madison Berkeley, told CoStar News in a statement that the firm, founded six years ago, has witnessed "significant progress" in discussions around women in real estate, adding that it has seen gender parity fully achieved at entry-level positions.

Zeilerbauer, who works alongside business partner Clare Coe, said the key question was whether the positive trajectory would continue in the light of challenges to global diversity, equality and inclusion efforts due political change.

She said: "Here in the UK, we are seeing many major employers scaling back DEI initiatives and flexible working policies and this is disproportionately affecting women in mid-level roles with young children.

"With wages not keeping up with inflation and childcare costs rising, many will be forced to find additional childcare as they are asked to return to the office for an increased proportion of their working week.

"We are seeing an upturn in these women getting in touch. They are seeking new roles and many may leave the industry altogether. These women represent the future of senior leadership in real estate, and losing them will set back progress."

Zeilerbauer added: "This year, International Women’s Day is more critical than ever, we must fight harder to support and retain women in real estate and find innovative solutions that will benefit both employees and employers."