International Women’s Day: NRLA celebrates female landlords
It was a capacity crowd at the NRLA’s inaugural celebration of women in property held in London today.
The event, organised to mark International Women’s Day, welcomed female landlords, agents, developers and investors to enjoy afternoon tea, listen to inspiring landlord stories, network and share their experiences of what is all too frequently considered a male dominated industry.
This, of course, is despite the fact that almost half landlords – and those working in the rental sector – are women.
Welcome
The welcome and keynote speech was given by NRLA chair Jodi Berg OBE.
Jodi, who has 25 years’ experience working in property, explored the vital role women play within the private rented sector and how the industry has evolved over the years.
Jodi addressed the outdated stereotype of the ‘typical’ landlord; a middle-aged, middle-class conservative (with both an upper and lowercase ‘c’) and images conjured up by the word ‘landlady’ – from Corrie’s Bet Lynch to the matriarchs of Dickensian boarding houses.
Exploring the changes that she has seen in the last two-and-a-half decades, she shared her thoughts on the positive developments within the private rented sector, which has gone from a traditionally male domain to one in which women are not simply making inroads but thriving.
This is despite the fact that women were only granted equal rights to property ownership and disposal in England in 1926 – less than 100 years ago.
Standards
She told the mainly-female audience that during this period women landlords have made a huge impact when it comes to improving standards in the sector and fostering a different and more understanding approach to the welfare of tenants – one of the reasons the celebration was organised in the first place.
This does not mean that there isn’t more to be done.
Closing her speech, after outlining the work the NRLA is doing to support landlords she said: “We recognise that to attract more women into the sector there needs to be equal opportunities to develop their expertise, and the flexible working arrangements which are key to a sensible work life balance.
“As Chair of the NRLA I can assure everyone here today that we will work tirelessly to provide those opportunities, and to engender a much greater recognition of the contribution of women.”
She then welcomed the afternoon’s speakers, who shared their property journey – with an emphasis on making their mark as a woman in what has historically been considered a man’s world.
This covered everything from blatant sexism, to being unable to find workwear to fit, when it comes to onsite work.
Jodi thanked them for helping to smash the glass ceiling and taking the time to share their expertise.
Among the speakers were:
- Inspirational landlord and developer Charlotte Edwards, who has featured in the NRLA’s Property magazine,
- Marie Parris, MD and Founder of George Ellis Property Services
- Maxine Fothergill, Managing Director Amax Estates and past president of ARLA Propertymark
- Property Ombudsman, Rebecca Marsh
- Yvonne Baisden, NRLA Regional Representative for London
The International Women’s Day celebration was the first of a series, with plans in the pipeline for further networking and social events for women in property.
Keep an eye on our news site and social media channels for more information and reaction from today’s event.
