From the Metroplex to the bayous to Hill Country, women have used their experience, knowledge, insight and intuition to help shape Texas commercial real estate. This issue is a celebration of their collective achievements, as well as an opportunity to recognize their continued fight for equal footing in what has been a male-dominated industry for decades. Even today, women only account for roughly 37 percent of all professionals in CRE, according to a 2020 report by CREW. “Women don’t see this as a career path,” says Susan Arledge, ESRP’s executive managing director of site selection. “They need to know this is a gender-blind industry. By that, I mean your career is driven by how much effort you want to put into it.” REDNews connected with CRE pros from all over the state to learn their keys to success that will, hopefully, unlock doors for more women in the future. “How do you stay in the business? You just have to live with the belief that it’s going to get easier and more profitable the longer you’re in,” laughed Arledge. It’s something she says she had to believe wholeheartedly when she started in commercial real estate in the late ‘70s. Arledge had just left a job at an oil and gas company and landed a spot at Henry S. Miller, where she only knew of one other woman on the staff. She quickly learned her success would be dictated by how much she invested in it. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.