Meet Andrea Carpenter, Founder of Women Talk Real Estate, a non profit organisation increasing the visibility of women in the European real estate industry.
“Today, women represent 14% of all speakers at real estate events across Europe. This means that out of 1660 speaking opportunities in 2016, only 230 were taken up by women. We don’t think these figures truly showcase the expertise of female professionals, or reflect the diversity of the industry we want going forward.”
Throughout her career, Andrea regularly attended events hosted for property professionals as an industry journalist, writing for a variety of publications including Property Week. The lack of female presence on stage was a regular phenomenon and she was ready to make a change. A change to shape the future of females within property.
Women Talk Real Estate offers a practical solution to increase the visibility of women in the industry. Connecting female professionals with speaking and press opportunities and offering tailored training for women on all aspects of building a successful stage and media presence.
Visibility matters. For the individual, it brings about better business opportunities and career progression, and it also challenges stereotypes and provides role models for the benefit of the whole industry. Women Talk Real Estate is a completely free platform, with a database of over 700 females who are eager to make their mark on the industry.
Prior to Women Talke Real Estate’s inception, Andrea worked in the European commercial property sector for more than 20 years, and has a specialist knowledge of the workings of the industry and a wide network of senior contacts. Her first ten years were spent as a journalist, including seven years as editor ofEuroProperty, a monthly financial title that focused on investment and development trends in the industry.
After that, Andrea worked for commercial property trade bodies, including the Urban Land Institute, as well as three years at INREV, an industry association based in Amsterdam, as a Director and Interim Chief Executive. This was followed by a year in Hong Kong, where she was Director for ANREV, INREV’s Asian sister organisation.
On her return to the UK, she worked as Head of Marketing and Communications EMEA at CBRE Global Investors where she supervised the corporate and programme marketing, press, branding and internal communications in the region.
Andrea is a regular speaker and panellist at industry events as well as a media spokesperson and regular contributor to industry magazines. In 2008, she won the Outstanding Industry Contribution Award at the IPE Real Estate Awards for her contribution to the development of the European fund management industry.
Andrea brought her experience of public speaking to the studio, resulting in a highly energised and rewarding conversation. Get to meet the right people with devcast…
