International Women's Day 2026 Asks us to Consider a Simple But Powerful Idea: Give To Gain

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Katrina Tarrant \| CEO Urban Real Estate

Days like this matter because they challenge complacency. Real estate is built on momentum.

Listings, negotiations, targets, growth. We measure performance relentlessly, often without stopping to examine the system that enables that performance. International Women’s Day gives us a reason to step back and ask a deeper question, not how much we are achieving, but how we are enabling others to achieve.

After more than three decades in this industry, I know that progress is rarely accidental. It is enabled. I have benefited from leaders who gave me opportunity before I felt entirely ready. They entrusted me with responsibility and visibility and placed me in rooms that stretched me. Those decisions accelerated my career in ways I could not have done alone.

It was not without challenge. I have walked into boardrooms as the only woman at the table. I have felt the need to be over-prepared to ensure credibility. I have navigated the fine line between being decisive and being labelled difficult. I have learned to hold authority without shrinking it to make others comfortable. Those experiences shaped how I now lead and how deliberately I think about access and opportunity.

Which brings me back to the International 'Give To Gain' message. Leadership in our industry is not neutral. We shape trajectories. We influence who is promoted, who is mentored, who is trusted with premium listings and who gains exposure to key clients. We determine who is advocated for when they are not present. If we say we support women but hesitate to share influence, commercial opportunity or leadership pathways, we are not giving. We are posturing.

Real giving is structural. It is sponsorship, not sentiment. It is access, not applause. It is backing talent before it is fully formed. And while those decisions often sit at senior levels, giving is not reserved for CEOs and principals. Every one of us influences culture.

It shows up when we call out stereotypes rather than let them pass. When we question assumptions about readiness or ambition. When we celebrate women’s success without attaching qualifiers. When we share knowledge and encouragement freely, understanding that confidence compounds. Bias rarely announces itself loudly. It lives in subtle commentary and selective opportunity. Advancement is built in these everyday moments just as much as in boardroom decisions.

When women are genuinely supported, performance strengthens. Retention improves. Decision making broadens. This is not symbolic. It is commercially sound. International Women’s Day is a moment of reflection. Give To Gain, however, is a discipline expressed in daily decisions.

Who in your world could rise faster with your support? Whose name are you mentioning positively when they are not in the room? Where might there be more space to extend opportunity?

The next generation of women in real estate should not have to navigate the same gradients many of us did. If we are prepared to give differently, the gain will extend beyond individuals. It will strengthen the entire industry. And the leaders who understand that will shape its future.