Property Rounds: Women Brokers a Rarity in Commercial Real Estate

Call Barbara Segalini Stilley a trailblazer.

When the Wilton resident joined CBRE's Stamford office three decades ago, she was one of three female brokers in an office dominated by men.

Though the national ratio of men to women has not changed much in the past few decades -- estimates are that 10 percent of commercial real estate brokers are women -- Segalini Stilley is now one of seven female brokers at the firm, which has 31 agents overall.

"I started with the company about 30 years ago and have been with CBRE for my entire career," she said. "When I was hired, you could be whatever you could be. It's a performance kind of job. I never faced any discrimination. If it existed, I didn't run into it."

More women are coming into the commercial real estate field, according to Segalini Stilley, as they learn about the opportunities.

She said one of the most important keys to success was to introduce herself to all the players in the commercial real estate community as soon as possible.