The power behind 100 Women in Property

As the 100 Women in Property sponsorship program launches for its second year, the opportunities for last year’s participants continue to grow, says Brookfield’s Kerrie Muskens and Anna-Athanasia Dervenis.

Muskens (pictured, left), an early champion of the program, sponsored three separate participants in 2016, including Dervenis (pictured, right).

Working in different spheres of their business – Dervenis is vice president of Brookfield’s in-house legal team, while Muskens heads up marketing and communications – was no impediment to their collaboration.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are in marketing, legal, finance or asset management, the key to this program is developing new connections,” Muskens says.

Dervenis agrees.

“Our commonality is property – so meeting and networking with a range of people from different specialisations was really valuable,” she explains.

“Without programs like 100 Women in Property, it would be much harder for someone like me in the legal profession to get access to such a broad range of people in the property industry.”

Dervenis says the program gave her a boost in confidence, fresh insights into the industry and a rare opportunity to sit on committees.

“This alone helps women feel empowered – knowing that they can get involved, can make a contribution and that their voices will be heard,” she says.

Since taking part in the 100 Women in Property program, Dervenis has been appointed to the Property Council’s ICMD Regulation & Investment Working Group. For Muskens, this is proof that the program works.

“Once some of last year’s participants step onto committees, a new cycle starts where they have opportunities to broaden their connections at a table with peers. That’s the power of the program.”

So, was 100 Women in Property what Muskens and her fellow committee members hoped it would be?

“Definitely,” she says. “But one of the huge surprises was the level of commitment from the industry. We were hoping for 100 women, but we achieved around 260 nationally.”

Muskens says the personal and professional development opportunities weren’t restricted to the participants.

“Sponsoring others made me think about my own goals and business priorities,” Muskens says.

“And I feel like my diversity lens is on 100 per cent of the time now. If I’m involved in any activity, I always consider whether we have a good diversity mix in terms of gender, age and ethnicity.”

Find out more about the 100 Women in Property program or check out the #DiversityDelivers video.