REA Group Internal Communications Adviser Jess Jones has always been one to question traditional gender roles.
As a four-year old she questioned why her mother always deferred key decisions to her father, was curious about why more women didn’t work at her father’s engineering company and was devastated when she realised, she couldn’t follow her father’s footsteps into the Victorian Football league because of her gender.
“I had that fire in me from a really young age,” Jess said
“I always asked why, and it drove my parents crazy.”
That “fire” has continued to burn in Jess as an adult, a passion that has seen her get involved in various female charities, establish a business to promote female business owners in regional areas and join the board of the Frankston Football Club (VFL) in Victoria, which currently has the most female board members in its history.
Her passion for gender diversity, also inspired her to launch the Future Female Brokers program, Smartline’s first ever dedicated program for female brokers to help address the continuing decline of female brokers in the industry, with representation falling beneath 27% for the first-time in 2020.
The Future Female Brokers program, which was recognised as a finalist in the Diversity and Inclusion Program at the MFAA’s National Excellence Awards, has already had a positive impact on making gender diversity a greater priority at Smartline.
Launched on International Women’s Day last year, the program has helped amplify the focus on attracting women into the group and it is already paying dividends. In 2020, almost half of all of Smartline’s recruits were women, up from 33 per cent in 2019.
The program was designed to build female broker confidence, provide education and peer-mentoring support. The initial program proved so popular it was oversubscribed and the team is now considering how to evolve the program even further in 2021.
After moving on to a new role within the REA Group, Jess has handed the Future Female Brokers program baton over to Skye Callaghan, Smartline’s Franchise Development Manager Victoria & Tasmania an industry veteran who has witnessed the impact of a lack of diversity over her 20+ years in the industry.
In her current role, Skye is tasked with fostering a culture that sustains high-performance and continual improvement. Part of that she says, is ensuring that Smartline’s brokers reflect and understand the needs of their diverse customers.
“Diversity enables us to understand our clients’ needs in more detail and identify different strategies to fulfil them,” she said.
“Females have an ability to connect, build genuine relationships and show empathy. By promoting Future Females in business and continuing to take responsibility in driving ethical realignment, I feel we will be much better represented in our Industry.”
Jess says increasing the representation of women as mortgage brokers is critically important especially when you consider their role in driving the majority of consumer spending.
“Women should feel comfortable to start a role within any industry they’re interested in and to have the option to do so,” she said.
“The more women we have in male-dominated industries, the better for the next generations to believe they have options when planning their career path.”
And both agree that part of the solution to increasing gender diversity in the industry is ensuring that everyone gets involved in driving conversation and actions.
“It’s not enough to have only minorities discussing the issues that minorities face,” Jess said.
“These issues impact every single person – if it’s not you directly, it’s someone you know.
“We must work on the solutions together.”
And in the spirit of sharing advice and guidance to others, what are their secrets to success?
“Be open-minded, stand-up for what you believe in and don’t compromise your integrity and values,” Skye said.
Jess advocates persistence, positivity, and passion, acknowledging weaknesses and seeking support and advice from those who have the strengths that you wish to develop.
“We all have the power to change our lives at any given moment if we wish to,” Jess concluded.
You can sign up for free by creating an account. If you are new to the portal, select "Create an account" to register and gain access to a range of free and useful resources.
If you already have an account, simply log in. Once logged in, you can easily apply for membership. If you need assistance, call our support team on 1300 554 817 for assistance.