Leading ladies gather in Sydney to celebrate success, leadership, and the year that was

Leading Ladies of Real Estate was started to encourage and empower women from across the entire industry. This was the third of five events held on the east coast of Australia, and New Zealand, across November.

Leading Ladies NSW Chair, Bridgette Collis, hosted the event, and was joined by fiercely successful women in the industry for an inspiring panel, hosted by Elite Agent’s Managing Editor, Samantha McLean.

“We want to bring women together and develop opportunities for professional development,” Ms Collis said.

“The feedback from this year’s events and webinars is how much our members have loved the community that’s been built for mentoring relationships, and we’re so proud to continue to foster that.”

At Tuesday’s event, Vivien Yap, Principal of Ray White Dalkeith | Claremont in Perth was joined by Emily Davidson, one of BresicWhitney’s highest performing agents.

The panel discussed being a woman in a male-dominated industry, balancing work and life, and leadership qualities necessary to excel in real estate.

Vivien Yap said her first week in real estate was a shock to the system.

“The first week I went home and was very disappointed and frustrated as I couldn’t find anyone to help me. I felt there was a lot of backstabbing, people not calling back, no one having your back. It was so different from my first career in pharmacy where everyone supports each other - it wasn’t competitive like real estate,” Ms Yap said.

“It was very dog eat dog. Within two and a half years I thought I had to start my own culture if I couldn’t find the culture I wanted anywhere else.”

Emily Davidson said she stumbled into real estate after deferring university. She was initially part of a mother-daughter team at Ray White New Farm with her mum, Christine Rudolph, before she moved to Sydney.

“I didn’t know anyone here, but I had my real estate background. I met with Maclay Longhurst and as soon as we spoke I remember thinking ‘you’re hungry, you’ve got vision. There's an opportunity here,’” Ms Davidson said.

They both had to prove themselves early on in their real estate career.

“I knew I needed to transform and present myself differently.” Ms Yap said.

“I wanted to come across as different to who I was as a pharmacist. I needed to prove it to my clients, but also to myself, that I was going to be a success in real estate.

“I became known for my customer experience and always giving vendors and buyers the most exceptional service possible, and I wanted to make sure they trusted me.”

Emily said her initial role as a PA was harder to break away from.

“There can be a stigma around agents working in an admin role who want to move into sales and I felt I had to continually prove myself,” Ms Davidson said.

“To get ahead I would do my admin role during the day, and then absorb everything I possibly could at night.”

Samantha McLean rounded out the interview with two very pertinent questions - one about leadership qualities and one about the talent crisis.

“Women are taking the stage as top performers all throughout the country and taking on leadership roles,” Ms McLean said. “What leadership qualities do you look for?”

“Honesty and integrity,” Ms Davidson said.

“I look for people who have initiative and are always there to help,” Ms Yap said. “People who would put the team before themselves.”