RWC’s Top Female Agent is Just Getting Started

<strong>In the high-stakes world of commercial real estate, where the air has historically been thin for women, Emily Pendleton is currently breathing rarefied air.</strong>

As the number one top-performing female agent at RWC internationally, Emily has spent the last year shattering the industry’s most persistent myths.

In a sector often described as a boys’ club, where deals are struck on golf courses and success is measured by round-the-clock availability, Emily has just recorded her strongest year to date, achieving over $39 million in sales and leasing value, all while navigating her first seven months of motherhood.

"My biggest achievements have come in the past 12 months," Emily says, reflecting on a period that would have traditionally been seen as a "career pause." Instead, she utilised the systems and team she spent years cultivating to maintain an elite level of service while on maternity leave.

"Through building the right team and structure, the business has continued to operate exactly as I would want it to. Being able to achieve that level of performance while prioritising motherhood has been incredibly rewarding and is something I’m particularly proud of."

This record-breaking performance serves as a powerful backdrop for International Women’s Day, proving that the supposed choice between high-octane career success and a fulfilling family life is a false dichotomy.

For Emily, real estate was a second language spoken fluently around the family dinner table long before she ever signed a contract. "I’d always had an interest in property, largely because my family owned real estate and it was something that was constantly discussed," she said. "It felt familiar and natural to me from a young age."

Critical to this success has been the environment in which Emily operates. She is quick to point out that individual drive can only go so far without a culture that fosters it, and she credits much of her ability to scale her business to the leadership at RWC Northern Corridor Group.

Under the guidance of Michael Shadforth, Emily found the structural support and psychological safety necessary to thrive during major life transitions. "Leadership sets the tone for everything," Emily said. "When leaders are willing to call things out, support flexibility, and genuinely back women, you feel it immediately - the culture shifts and behavior changes."

For Emily, having a leader like Michael meant that her pregnancy and return to work were met with empathy rather than outdated assumptions. "When they don't \[support women\], and poor behaviour is brushed off as ‘just how the industry is,’ it becomes normalised. Culture doesn’t just happen; it’s created by what leaders are willing to challenge or ignore."

That early exposure blossomed into a career when she entered the industry at just 17 years old. Starting as a receptionist, she spent her formative years learning the business from the ground up - mastering everything from the mechanics of a lease to the nuances of deal strategy - before evolving into an associate agent and eventually stepping out as a standalone powerhouse.

However, the ascent wasn't without its systemic friction. Emily is candid about the "credibility gap" she faced early on. "I felt that as a woman I wasn’t automatically afforded the same credibility, so I had to prove myself through consistent results rather than being given the benefit of the doubt," she said. "Male colleagues were often able to establish trust and momentum more quickly through relationships alone."

The mental tax of "working twice as hard just to be seen" nearly led her to walk away from the industry more than once. Emily admits she considered leaving because of the exhaustion of breaking into impenetrable networks.

"What made me stay was backing myself, surrounding myself with strong women, and realising that if women who are performing at a high level keep leaving, nothing actually changes," she says. "I wanted to be someone other women could see and think, ‘okay, it is possible.’"

Today, Emily leads with an authenticity that she once felt pressured to hide. In her earlier years, she moderated her tone and carefully timed personal milestones around market momentum. Now, she views her role as a leader as a platform to shift the industry's "weather."

She believes that when leaders support flexibility and call out poor behavior, the culture shifts immediately. "When flexibility is offered with trust rather than judgement, women don’t pull back - they rise to the occasion," she notes.

As she looks toward the future, Emily’s advice to young women is a call to action: "Just go for it and not be afraid to back yourself. Find a mentor early, ask questions and don’t wait until you feel ready to take opportunities when they come."

She remains a fierce advocate for the next generation, believing that performance-based respect is finally replacing old-school hierarchies. "I genuinely believe the next generation of leadership will look very different, but only if we keep having honest conversations like this and backing women through all stages of their careers."

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