SUCCESS IS DIRECTLY LINKED WITH YOUR ABILITY TO SELF-INITIATE
What are the reasons for the seemingly lower participation of women in real estate? Real Estate has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. The moment we hear terms such as real estate developer, broker or agent, one instantly thinks of a male persona. It is true that the complexity of this sector, its associated risks and the intensity of fieldwork required from getting approvals to on-site construction work, have traditionally stirred women away from real estate. However, times have changed drastically over the past decade with increased professionalism across the industry. Today the canvas of opportunities within real estate is extensive with women soaring across sub-verticals like architecture, design, procurement, legal counsel, marketing, sales, finance and strategy. Today, women are taking leadership / management roles and are also taking strategic positions within all stakeholder companies such as property consultants, channel partners and agents as well. How has been your learning’s & challenges? Being second generation in the real estate business, I have been privileged to have a deeper understanding of the sector and a low barrier to entry. However, I firmly believe that a senior management position can never be given, but rather must be earned. I am passionate about the organization and the value we add to society and its urban built environment. My goal in the first two years was to simply be a sponge. Learning and acquiring new skills and gaining technical knowledge including project planning, land acquisition, marketing, brand building, cash flow management, construction costs, and so on, has enabled me to understand the industry and also equipped me with the right experience to take strategic decisions for the company. Five years in, and it has been a steep learning curve where every day comes with its new set of learning’s and challenges. There is a lot of ground still to be covered especially when it comes to the new technology platforms however I am confident that with the right talent and teamwork we can create game changing impact which would be the future of the industry. What are your initiatives towards encouraging & enabling women employees? At Ashar Group, we believe in equal opportunity. Talent, hard work and initiative matter the most and there is no place for any kind of discrimination. We are proud to have over 10 women in senior management positions and over 50% of our employees are women. We continue to create a healthy working environment for all our women employees and want to give them equal opportunities to grow in their careers and eventually take up meaningful roles across verticals. We invest in timely training and skill development sessions to ensure that they learn key technical aspects of this sector, which in turn helps them in becoming much more efficient in managing multiple responsibilities in the company. One message that you would like to share with the younger generation? Real estate wasn’t considered a suitable sector for women of the previous generation. But with changing times, it is one of the most dynamic sectors that supports 200+ ancillary industries. This sector is at the cusp of professionalizing into the status of an industry and there is no dearth of opportunities to innovate and shine. Women, with their knack for details, ability to multitask and inherent emotional intelligence, certainly have a critical role to play in the overall growth of the real estate sector. Lastly I would like to add that irrespective of the sector, as a young woman, your success is directly linked with your ability to self-initiate, learn on the job and drive results. One should strongly pursue and prioritize working with a manager who acts as a mentor and is invested in your growth. The professional sphere then becomes seemingly less daunting and more enticing.
Tags : Success ability Ayushi Ashar Director Ashar Group real estate International Women's Day