Participants in the inaugural Girls in Property program.
Camera IconParticipants in the inaugural Girls in Property program. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Property Council launches program to encourage young women to join property industry

Staff WriterWestern Suburbs Weekly

THE Property Council of Australia launched its diversity-driven Girls in Property program in WA last week, with 54 year 9 students from Shenton College taking part in the full day event, which included presentations at Curtin University followed by site tours at the Construction Futures Centre in Belmont and State Buildings in Perth.

Property Council of Australia WA executive director Sandra Brewer said the program was designed to encourage greater female participation in the state’s property industry, which often faced scrutiny for being too male-dominated.

“Girls in Property involves reaching out to students before they forge their careers, to help create a sustainable pipeline of talent for the growing property industry,” she said.

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“The students connected with inspirational and talented (female) professionals in the property industry, at different stages in their careers within both the private and public sectors, which really added a layer of relatability to the program and allowed the students to ask questions and forge long-lasting connections with our mentors.”

Speakers included representatives from Stockland, Blackburne, Urbis, EY, Primewest, Savills, ISPT, Iris Residential, Property Education Foundation, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, FJM Property, Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority, Norman Disney & Young, CBRE, Knight Frank, Lendlease, COMO The Treasury, JLL, Mirvac, APP Corporation and Gough Recruitment.

Shenton College Teacher Kshamta Trisal said the program gave the students tangible examples they could learn from and consider for their future careers.

“Programs like Girls in Property actually give them great exposure to unique, dynamic experiences they have never been exposed to previously, learning is no longer limited to the confines of a classroom,” she said.

“It’s rewarding to see their expressions as they’re saying ‘oh I didn’t realise I could do this, I didn’t realise this was connected with property’, because when you’re talking about property, you’re thinking of building houses or construction.

“What the students learnt is that career opportunities in property are diverse and abundant in the form of estimators, architects, civil engineers, financial planners to interior designers.”

The Property Council of Australia hopes the Girls in Property initiative will assist more young women to choose a career in property, by showing them the full range of options that are available and how rewarding working in the property industry can be.

The program will be launched Australia-wide and run across more schools next year.