For over a century, the world has celebrated International Women's Day every year on 8th March.
We reached out to two women working at the leading edge of property and technology – and they sent us their thoughts on the successes and challenges of the female gender in PropTech.
Elizabeth Siew (Real estate lawyer turned technopreneur, deputy president of the Malaysia PropTech Association, chairperson of Asia Proptech Malaysia Chapter)
"Women in PropTech are still a small minority worldwide, as generally women in tech are not many in number. I think we should be encouraging more women to be engaged in tech. However, having said that, we all know that men’s and women’s brains are wired differently. Men are generally more inclined towards science and tech as compared to women.
"A successful PropTech company requires the combined knowledge of tech, in-depth experience, and industrial knowledge of real estate. Female participation in real estate has a long history and firm footing – therefore, I believe that there will be women in real estate that may venture into PropTech by partnering with tech partners.
"I am a good example of that. Being an experience real estate lawyer for years, when I found the right IT partner, together we could develop a PropTech or legal tech organisation that the market needs because I have market knowledge. Ultimately, a tech person does not always need to be IT trained."
Renu Marudawanan (Editor of Rooftalks)
“My fellow women, who work in male-dominated sectors (such as the Property Technology industry), have faced unique challenges – and yet, many women now hold positions of power and authority – as dealing with these challenges necessitates the kind of unique solutions that only a woman can provide.
“We need more women in sectors like Property Technology as the industry may be managing the bigger picture, but it still lacks the meticulousness and detail-orientation that a feminine touch can provide.
“This industry is still young and has only – over recent years – gained traction in Malaysia. We girls still have a shot, not only at creating leadership opportunities for other women in this industry – while it is still in its early stages – but also at solidifying our stance as key opinion leaders in Property Technology.”
Datin Shireen Tan (Co-founder and owner of VR Lab)
“I started my career from being a conservative-minded teacher and took a leap of faith to be an entrepreneur, an investor, and eventually, to earn recognition as the “Queen of VR” – it has been a challenging, yet fun, journey.
“I’ve found that a company's success is mainly due to two major factors: the client and human resources. We women have this special ability – soft skills – we listen to our customers and we create products that stay relevant to the market needs. We listen to our employees – and happy employees increase productivity. The formula for a successful company is ‘happy employees, happy customers’.
“The biggest barrier for women in PropTech entrepreneurship is that we sometimes stop believing in ourselves. Being an entrepreneur, wife, and mother at the same time can be tougher than we initially think – but we have strong survival instincts to protect our babies (our children and our businesses).
"Keep believing in yourself and your dream will come true," says Datin Shireen.
Read on: Carol Yip's guidelines for women seeking to maintain a smart work-life balance
