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Girls in Property a Success

  • June 26, 2017

Girls in Property a Success The inaugural Girls in Property week was a great success with 120 high school age girls having the opportunity to tour world class developments, speak to industry leaders and learn about the career opportunities in the property industry.The initiative was run over a week in May and integrates a new audience and program into the Property Council’s diversity programs. Day one of the week was a day of engaging with property industry leaders, hearing about their career experiences and working on meaningful projects with mentors from Property Council member companies. Both the Hon Victor Dominello MP and Louise Mason, COO AMP Capital outlined lessons from diverse careers in politics the property industry while the workshops at the end of the day provided the opportunity for the girls to work on property assignments that reflected actual project briefs.Day two was a day of touring some of Sydney’s most iconic buildings and precincts including Westfield Sydney, Centre Point Tower, Wynyard Walk, the Streets of Barangaroo, and Barangaroo Tower 3. Tours of both behind the scenes at Westfield and the Barangaroo precinct provided an opportunity for the girls to see the end, functioning product of a major development. Lucy Turnbull also spoke to the girls and reflected on the progress of women in traditionally male dominated professions and the extensive opportunities now available to women in the property industry.The week concluded with the annual women in property lunch where Dr Catherine Ball outlined her views on business, diversity and technology. Girls participating in the week were hosted by Property Council members and had the opportunity to engage one on one with industry representatives.The program is now being evaluated in conjunction with the specially established Girls in Property Taskforce and the NSW Diversity Committee.We know that diversity makes a difference. In Australia, an analysis of ASX0 companies found that companies with female representation on their boards outperformed the markets and companies with no gender diversity by up to 8.7 per cent return on equity.But more so than business performance, it is also about equity in opportunity. We hope that programs like Girls in Property provide an experience and the information for young girls to make an informed choice about their future career to help create the long term, sustainable pipeline of women choosing property as a career.