A fresh study has thrown a spotlight on a nagging truth in the UK property world: women make up 52% of estate agents, yet they’re largely locked out of the top jobs.
Timed for International Women’s Day tomorrow, the research from We Are Unchained and YouGov—drawing on 1,100 property pros over the past year—shows a promising start for women fizzle as they climb the ranks, with a near 30-point drop in their presence from grunt work to boardroom.
The numbers tell the tale:
- All levels: 52% women, 48% men
- Non-management: 71% women, 29% men
- Junior management: 53% women, 47% men
- Middle management: 41% women, 59% men
- Senior management (below the board): 47% women, 53% men
- Board level: 42% women, 58% men
Verona Frankish, CEO of Yopa Property and Chair of Women In Estate Agency Group, doesn’t mince words:
“The gender gap in UK estate agency, particularly the stark contrast at Board Level, is disappointing and frustrating in equal measure.” She sees progress from last year’s 75% entry-level to 31% board split, but it’s not enough. “While it is encouraging to see progress from last year’s data when women represented 75% at entry level positions but only 31% at Board level, we still have so much more to do,” she says, pushing back against old excuses. “I don’t believe that the issue here is that women have a ceiling to their capability, nor do I think that women are not ‘good enough’. We must acknowledge that women are still not getting enough of the opportunities that we deserve.”
Megan Eighteen, Head of Development for Home Finders, zeroes in on a big hurdle:
“There’s still a long way to go in supporting women, especially in helping them re-enter the workforce after becoming mothers or facing similar life changes.” She’s blunt about the fix: “If there’s one takeaway from this International Women’s Day, let it be this: support women returning to work, provide proper support during maternity leave, and truly consider their choices around breastfeeding.” Motherhood, she reckons, reshapes everything—“Becoming a mother changes every aspect of life, and from personal experience, it can deeply impact confidence and identity, on top of the natural instinct of missing your baby. Still, it increases skills like empathy and patience, which are needed in leadership positions.”
Kirsty Franks of Frank Marketing, also a Women In Estate Agency board member, keeps the faith:
“There are, no doubt, countless factors behind the lack of female senior leaders when compared to junior employees. Still, through our work at WiEA, we aim to support, empower, and champion women throughout their estate agency careers so that this gap continues to reduce, and women are given fair and equal opportunities to their male counterparts.”
Cindy Slaughter, Marketing Director at Avocado and Momentum Portfolio, nails the next step: “To truly drive the industry forward in an equal and balanced way, we must focus on creating clear pathways for women to transition from middle management into senior leadership and board level roles.”
For London’s property scene, it’s a wake-up call—women are the backbone at 52%, but the ladder’s still rigged.
“We have a joint responsibility as leaders – male and female – to change the narrative that women cannot lead as well as men and, until we do, we will not see an industry that is reaching its full potential,” Frankish warns.