Ladies Leading the Way
I have worked in commercial real estate for more than 22 years.
Being a lover of fashion and all things retail, I decided to turn this passion into a successful career.
However, what I observed from early on was what an overwhelmingly male-dominated industry it was.
I found that men had their own little sphere of influence and network in this industry, whether it was playing golf or attending sporting events together.
Twelve years ago, I reached out to a select group of professional women within the corporate industry and created a networking platform for us – and thus The Property Ladies Lunch was born. It is a collaborative and inspirational quarterly boardroom lunch event featuring high-profile guests.
I’ve had more than 150 women as guests to The Property Ladies Lunch events, including women in senior
positions in property, retail, finance, media and other specialist corporate areas. During lockdowns, I conducted these sessions via Zoom, which were very well received as many women were home schooling and relished the distraction and opportunity to interact with other women.
Some of the guests I knew and others I just made direct contact; I was very particular that the lunches were informal and not a “male-bashing session”.
Following the success of these lunches, I joined forces with Ready Media Group and introduced a Women in Property & Business podcast series.
The podcast series has been hugely successful and we have had the pleasure of interviewing inspirational guests including Susan Alberti AC (Susan Alberti Medical Research Foundation), Janine Allis (Boost Juice), Charlotte Vidor OA (Toga Group), Nicole Jacobs (White Fox and The Block), Chrissie Maus (Chapel Street Precinct Association), Samantha Taylor (KPMG), Melanie Green (ISPT), Adriana Zuccala (Supra Capital) and Mandy Mandie (Koala Kids Foundation).
I am extremely excited to be launching Season 2 of the Women in Property & Business podcast series this month, where I will be showcasing more talented and interesting women and discovering their journeys in the industry.
What I love about the Women in Property lunch and podcast is the many important lessons and words of wisdom I am hearing, and I am moved by the number of women out there eager to share their experiences. What I find most inspiring is the brilliant younger women forging successful and interesting careers.
I am constantly contacted by women to be a guest at the lunches, as well as on the podcast series, and I encourage anyone interested to please reach out.
It has been a joy to watch my love of fashion and connecting people grow into a successful and fulfilling career and I cannot wait to see what wonderful stories we get to share in this new year.
Season 1 of the Women in Property & Business podcast can be streamed through Ready Media Group’s Spotify channel on open.spotify.com/ show/0HJ97aHPVwSlNrLflBKYMB?si=b551a59c1b484caf.
Season 2 of the Women in Property & Business podcast will be made available on the Property Weekly website (propertyweekly.net.au) as well as through Ready Media’s Spotify channel from the end of February.
Tamara Gross is the director of retail at Belle Property Commercial and can be contacted at tamara.gross@belleproperty.com
Originally published in the Australian Jewish News Property Review Weekly.