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Firstly, I want to congratulate Juliet Ashton-Taylor who was crowned queen of the female landlords at the latest Women in Property Awards.However, whilst not wanting to trivialise her personal achievements; I wonder whether the very nature of this type of award is not patronising to women. Does it say as much about the perception of the male middle aged leaders of the traditional landlord organisations that promote them.
"Oh well done dear. Haven't you done well & you did it all yourself?"
Surely if you are going to have a landlord award then it should be open to all.
My perception is that female landlords have long ago left behind many of their male competitors having a natural aptitude for detail. Personally, I see female landlords as my competitors & not a group to be patronised.
Sorry girls - I'm all about running a modern rental business and that means war!
If you are interested in the full list of winners it can be found here.
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This sucks on so many levels, where is the male landlord ONLY contest. It wouldn't happen as it would be deamed sexist!
I am supprised that any self respecting women in this profession should be wiling to set themselves apart and enter or accept nomination based simply on gender.
Its not like this profession has a gender advantage. A good landlord is a good landlord whatever their gender.
Lets stop this NOW. It demeaning for everyone accept those making money out of its promotion. I am disappointed that the NLA is party to it and have told them so in an email every time this rears its head.
Kevin
They could at least wear swimsuits.....
I hear what you're saying (I am Juliet Ashton-Taylor by the way - this year's winner) but I'd be happy to compete against men as well. I am sure there are arguments for and against having a women only contest but I'm not complaining that I wasn't invited to play Andy Murray at Wimbledon!
Instead of being upset maybe just see it in the spirit I think it's intended - as an encouragement to raise standards and share good practice. Historically women have been the underdogs in property ownership and maybe the balance is being redressed and maybe there won't be the need to encourage women specifically in the future.
All I can say is I am thrilled to have been a part of the event and after many years of struggle it was a wonderful experience for me. I hope to use the title as a platform to speak up for the poor and disadvantaged and give people a helping hand, so whatever your views of the contest I hope you think that is a worthwhile outcome.
By the way - nice picture on the article, but it isn't me! (I think it's Samantha Collett from the West Midlands). Sadly for Anon, I don't think the swimsuits will catch on and if they do I certainly would not be the winner!!
Welldone Juliet and thanks for the posting.
I agree in part with the sentiment.
I guess the difference is that women are able to compete on a level playing field in the world of property, whereas with tennis they are not.
Serena Williams would not get close to beating a man in the top 500.
This is why in this circumstance the award does seem rather outdated and patronising.
There is no reason why you couldn't of won 'top property person'.
To many it smacks of a male dominated organisation dropping on a PR opportunity and no more or less.
With the greatest respect to Juliet I wonder if the fact that all the press releases feature a photo of someone that didn't win, but happens to be the sexiest entrant just about says it all?
Well done Sexy Sam
Well done Juliet
More shame on you National Landlords Association for wasting your money on a hollow pathetically patronising piece of sexism.
You all missing the point. Like it or not, women landlords often have different pressures to men; many are raising a family while running a business, for example, which means they have to juggle kids and tenants.
Male landlords might have families too, but I bet you the vast majority don't do the school run, cook tea and put the kids to bed.
When women go into business, any business, they have to struggle much harder than men to succeed, so what's wrong with giving them a cheer when they do?
These winners are an inspiration to all landlords, men and women alike. Okay, the awards ceremony was a bit cheesy what with all that "Girls doing it for themselves" music and all, but still the winners should serve as an inspiration to other, men and women alike.
Congratulations to all the winners again. We don't want to belittle their achievements.
So from what you are saying Victoria you want women to be seen as fighting on a different playing field.
"When women go into business, any business, they have to struggle much harder than men to succeed,"
Don't you think that this is a bit of a sweeping statement.
Circumstance is surely curated by an individual?
i hear what you all saying too! ( i am the south east winner 2008 and 2009!) however i was in awards for property against men in the landlords and buy to let competetion in 2009 and i won it!! so it just proves a women in property can win even with male landlords in the room! The NLA are helping women in property and not doing any harm.
i am also delighted to be a part of the event and to be orgainised as good landlord which is harder work than begin a bad landlord!
As for the swim customes i would never win either!!
"Oh well done dear. Haven't you done well & you did it all yourself?"
That is the funniest comment! Even though I'm all for sisters doing it for themselves I have to agree with the initial post, this competition is definitely patronising, however for me, it's for slightly different reasons. Inspired by this post, I blogged also: http://moregeous.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/property-woman-of-the-year-sexist-nonsense-or-valid-competition/
Victoria - your articles are hysterical, laugh out loud stories :-)
Hard to know where to begin, and I'm coming at this late.
But the awards are not intended to patronise and - given the amount of feedback - the vast bulk of people see what we are trying to achieve.
I shall recap.
There are very few real opportunities to help challenge people's perceptions of the PRS. The old views still exist...not least in the media.
All we wanted was a media hook to promote all landlords. The hook was women.
Yes, it is shameless PR. But it does serve a purpose in helping change perceptions of the sector.
As the campaigns have gone on, we have also seen that women actually do have different pressures on them. Why is it bad acknowledging those pressures?
Victoria Whitlock - Evening Standard's very own 'Accidental Landlord' - is spot on.
Female landlords are your competitors but they are not competing on a level playing field.
There are stacks of awards aimed at specific groups. Black awards, female-only awards, gay awards.
BTW, I have received 15 complaints about the campaign. And only two were from women.
Here are some interesting facts:
Gender swing in NLA membership:
1 tenancy = 43% male, 57% female.
2-9 tenancies = 62% male, 38% female.
10+ tenancies = 81% male, 19% female.
Look, we're not trying to annoy people with these awards. We think they are a good opportunity to show ALL landlords in a better light. I'm afraid - sadly - a male awards would not do that as the awards would lose its key media hook. If we lose the hook, we lose the point of any awards.
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