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Reflecting on 2023, I can’t help but think about some of the stories we covered in 2023 and how impactful they were for women in our industry.
Sexual harassment, abortion rights, and discussions on the economy, personal finance and pop culture: Women dominated the conversation and the economy this year.
From female-directed box-office smash Barbie to women having conversations around sexual assault and gender equity, this year, women spoke out, stepped up and demanded more space. I hope that real change is coming so that future women in our industry have a safer and more equitable experience in their career paths.
Here is a roundup of some of the women’s issues stories we covered, worth a second or a third read.
We won’t stand for it
NAR harassment, retaliation and evasion revealed in Times exposé
In interviews with 29 current and former NAR employees and leaders, including 19 who said they endured sexual harassment on the job, The New York Times described wrongdoing running not only through the trade organization but also the subsidiaries and boards its executives currently sit on.
Lawsuit accuses eXp agents of sexual assault, drugging women
The suit was filed in California on behalf of four women. It names as defendants agents Michael Bjorkman and David Golden, as well as both eXp Realty and parent company eXp World Holdings.
The complaint ultimately argues that the two men participated in an “ongoing venture to entice women to travel in interstate commerce, recruit enthusiastic real estate agents with the promise of career advancement and coaching, and use their considerable influence in the real estate industry on these other real estate agents behalf, knowing that they would use means of force, fraud or coercion to cause these women to engage in a sex act.”
EXp team leader accused of sexual assault seeks to protect sex tapes
One of two male eXp agents accused of luring female agents to industry and company events and then drugging and sexually assaulting them is hoping to stop those female agents from obtaining records they may consider crucial evidence: His sex tapes.
‘Trust has been broken’: New NAR President vows to rebuild in video
“It’s upsetting to hear that some members and staff have not felt safe or respected. I want you to know I hear you,” said NAR President Tracy Kasper in the five-minute video. “The Leadership Team and Executive Committee hears you. We must figure out what NAR needs to do to make sure every member and every association staff person always feels respected and valued.”
Kasper said the association had hired outside experts to evaluate its current sexual harassment policies and reporting system, and revealed they’d chosen organizational culture expert Shaun Harper to spearhead the Culture Presidential Advisory Group, which aims to improve the relationship between NAR leadership, staff and members.
NAR CEO Bob Goldberg to retire early after ’emergency meetings’
Nykia Wright, previously CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, replaced Goldberg as interim CEO while the nearly 1.6 million-member trade group conducts a “comprehensive search process to identify a permanent CEO,” according to a press release.
“NAR advocates for and empowers people who help families across America realize the dream of homeownership,” Wright said in a statement.
“I am honored to join the organization at this important moment when the opportunity to make a difference in the evolving real estate landscape has never been greater. I look forward to getting to work and partnering closely with NAR’s talented staff in the months ahead.”
What we can learn from Ana Walshe’s disappearance
Thousands of women go missing in America every year. We are obsessed with true crime podcasts, but how many of us actually have a system or plan in place to check on our wives, sisters and friends regularly to help ensure their personal safety both at home and in the world?
Walshe went missing on Jan. 1, 2023, and now it seems that all her dreams, the risks she took to be optimistic, are but whispers in the universe that may never come true.
Girl Power: Because every woman is a girl first
‘Together we’ — How women in real estate are working to thrive
Women from all over the country gathered at a WomanUP! event held at The Seabird in Oceanside, California, on June 12, 2023, to gather and reset, recharge and recalibrate for the second half of the year after a challenging beginning of the year.
Women make up 66% of NAR’s membership. Is it serving you?
In the days since her initial accusations of misconduct, NAR doubled down on its support of former president Kenny Parcell, rejecting the claims of former executive Janelle Brevard even in the face of ongoing demands for accountability from its members, whose ranks now stand at 1.55 million.
Laws against sexual harassment and racial discrimination exist for good reason. Allowing such behavior to persist is not only morally wrong, but it’s also illegal. The leadership of all Realtor associations, but especially NAR, should set the standard for the highest levels of professional conduct for the entire industry.
The question is what happens if it doesn’t?
Women are supporting women on Threads. Should you?
The Women Supporting Women trend is very similar to the Dear Algorithm trend, which started earlier (and is still going strong). Still, it’s a more niched-down version of it, so it’s even more targeted and intentional. However, if you aren’t a woman or don’t want to bring gender into things but still want to use this trend, Dear Algorithm is an excellent substitute.
Many are using these trends interchangeably. Some are simply doing an introduction of themselves with a list of characteristics and short facts about them. The point is to showcase yourself to attract others to you.
Politics and pop culture
‘Hiya, Barbie!’: Iconic doll makes her real estate cameo
Alongside the rollout of all things Barbie this year at the box office, on fashion runways and in home design, the real estate industry turned pink in every way imaginable, from recreating Barbie’s Dream House in listing videos to the four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge event series on HGTV, where participants remade an entire house in Barbie décor throughout the decades.
While some stepped into the Barbie (marketing) magic in 2023, others incorporated the color pink into their brands long before the Barbie movement.
Roe v. Wade one year later: People, policy and housing
One year after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, impact headlines steadily flowed in — in the form of personal stories, statistics and heated debates. In our previous coverage, we tackled the sentiment that folks would move, but other readers pushed back that people would move to like-minded states.
Still, others argued that the majority of America did not want this, that it was a loud majority who pushed for this overturn. We aimed to understand the impact, which was swift, taking place in hospitals and doctors’ offices in rural towns and, in many cases, at kitchen tables, wondering what to do next.
Women are masters of the financial universe. They just don’t know it
According to Housing.com, 95 percent of the time, women are the key decision-makers when it comes to buying a home or renting an apartment. As widows and daughters inherit the wealth of baby boomer men during the next five to eight years, women will control an astounding $32 trillion of the country’s wealth.
‘The math isn’t mathing’: Girl Math for real estate agents
The math has always been there, in the background, pushed down past “We don’t talk about money because it’s not polite.” This trend just highlights that women are stretching what money they don’t have (and not feeling bad about it) and lightly jabs at how women are “bad at money math.”
But maybe the cards have always been stacked against us, and it’s not that we’re bad at managing money, but rather, we have lower incomes and higher costs.
A message for the ladies about 2024
2023 was a big year for women. We saw the power of our strength when we worked together. Equity in relationships, financial wealth and leadership are all possible if you continue to speak up and step up. You don’t have to be overworked, underappreciated, underpaid and underrepresented in leadership.
The key factor is time; you must make time to lead and prioritize growth in your schedule. If you want to see more change, you must change your life to create time to pursue it. This means you will not be able to do everything or be all the things to all people.
This means you must create boundaries, disappoint a few folks, and ask those around you to be more accountable. You don’t have to do it all; you can ask for help to make time to do what matters.
What does 2024 have in store for women? 2024 has all the potential for more change if you are just willing to kick down the door of “it is what it is” and continue to ask for better. You deserve it.
Rachael Hite is a former agent, a business development specialist, fair housing advocate, copy editor, and is currently perfecting her long game selling homes in a retirement community in Northern Virginia. You can connect with her about life, marketing, and business on Instagram.
