Following the success of the Slattery Women’s Lunches in Melbourne and Brisbane – a female networking event which attracts over 120 senior women – Director and State Lead in Victoria Sarah Slattery has rolled out the networking event to Sydney.
As Sarah explained one of the major barriers females face is around networking.
“The issues women face in the property industry are universal. Most networking events are dominated by men, and women feel uncomfortable attending because the event is more catered towards males.
“By having a women’s lunch it provides an opportunity for senior women to talk openly and meet in a relaxed and comfortable environment where they will not be judged,” she said.
Sarah, who remembers networking as a major barrier in the early days of her career, started up the Women’s Lunch in Melbourne to give women a voice. The lunch, which initially began as a small intimate gathering of a handful of women, has now grown to a guest list of over 400.
“With a well-established networking event in Melbourne we wanted to replicate this in Sydney. Sydney is a key growth area for Slattery and we have a lot of female clients that we want to celebrate with,” she said.
The first Women’s Lunch in Sydney was held on March 9.
“Everything was discussed from new opportunities to our kids. There were some great connections made between our guests, who will be catching up independently – which is really what the lunch is about,” she said.
One common theme that was raised amongst the women was that their roles were becoming more national.
“We are noticing now that more women are in agile positions which requires interstate travel on a daily and sometimes weekly basis. This is due to lifestyle requirements but also the requirements of the business
“Overall we are definitely seeing a shift in more females taking on leadership roles in male-dominated industries like property, which is great to see and needs to be celebrated,” she said.
With the success of the Slattery Women’s Lunches in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, these will now be held annually in all offices, including Perth later this year.
