7th March 2019 / Beth Oleyar: WOMEN IN REAL ESTATE

Meet the team of female leaders at Fletchers.

This Friday, 8th March marks the day women around the world unite to celebrate International Women's Day. As a global movement dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, Fletchers has always stood firm on our commitment towards gender parity.

According to Domain, 'leadership roles in the property industry remain dominated by men, but the tide is turning'. With a long, 100-year legacy behind us, Fletchers continues to pioneer the real estate industry, upholding the responsibilities as an industry leader to foster and promote female representation within the business. Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Sarah Lowry, says, 'communication is really important. Understanding the views of all parties and being open to new ideas is key' to becoming a stronger leader. She continues, 'there is still a lot of work to be done in seeing women advance to the highest levels in the industry, but in the words of Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operations Officer at Facebook; leadership belongs to those who take it'.

Director of Fletchers Eltham, Kaye Hoverd, believes you should 'chase your dreams, have a plan and work towards it.' Citing one of her biggest inspirations as Oprah Winfrey, Kaye comments, 'look where Oprah started in life to where she is today. It really proves that anyone can succeed in life and achieve their dreams'.

Melbourne-based digital real estate marketing agency, Campaign Track says the future is exceedingly bright for women in real estate. Commenting on the nature of property transactions in recent times, 'it seems it's females who hold the keys to many property sales across the country'.

In a concerted effort to capture the attention of female audiences and shift the focus towards women as the primary decision makers of the household, Fletchers initiated a company-wide rebrand in late 2018. Communications Manager, Beth Oleyar, remarked, 'building longstanding relationships with women has been of paramount significance as we've moved towards evolving our branding and communications across all facets of our business over the past year. The 100-year anniversary of Fletchers in 2019 has not only provided a solid foundation for the business to usher in the next generation of clients, but the necessary framework for our company to embrace the future in a way that recognises and encourages the contributions of women in parity with our male counterparts'.

Last year, Fletchers welcomed Prue Fletcher to the team as our Brand & Lifestyle Ambassador. As the proud and prominent voice for the business and strong advocate for gender equality, Prue believes 'being able to juggle motherhood and a career you are passionate about is something women strive for. Doing so with a company that embodies my passion for family, community, lifestyle and design is nothing short of Refreshing'. Customer Experience Manager, Caroline Dawborn agrees, 'I want my two daughters to grow up in a world where they will have the same opportunities as their male peers'.

In the words of Property Consultant and Licensed Estate Agent, Kaining Shepherd, 'success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.'

Fletchers would like to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of our female employees within the business and congratulate them on their tireless efforts over the last 100 years in creating longstanding, energised relationships with our clients and community partners.

It's a Fletchers Thing.