A woman journalist in real estate? Don’t damn it as professional harakiri-II

By: Jhumur Ghosh, National Feature Editor, Times of India

Track2Realty Exclusive: Wave of change in Indian real estate was visible in 2007. Suddenly, it seemed like real estate would fulfill its destiny as the sunrise sector of the country. Billion dollar projections; international funding companies eyeing a piece of the Indian real estate pie; talk of international best practices in the industry; international firms in the real estate and allied industries’ space entering the Indian market; this year changed the sector in several far reaching ways.

As Indian realty companies vied for FDI; a certain amount of streamlining in their internal processes happened. All these changes bode well for the industry and for me as well. With international exposure came a certain degree of adoption of international best practices.

Real estate companies became more tech and media savvy; some of them invested in very strong PR and corporate communications teams. The sector altogether became more organized and corporatized.

Suddenly, there was an influx of women, not just in the PR and corp comm sector but also in real estate companies. As a real estate journalist, it was an exciting time for me as I was finally interacting with a better caliber of people, across the industry.

It was exciting to talk to PE funds from abroad to get a sense of where they thought India’s real estate sector was heading. Company spokespersons were suddenly being chosen with care. All this meant a larger knowledge base in the industry and thus, better articles for journalists like me. My kitty of real estate supplements grew too, as did the special features. My growth as a real estate journalist coincided with the growth of the sector.

By, mid-2008 though, this real estate bubble burst due to the global economic meltdown, precipitated by the sub-prime crisis in the US. Thankfully, the positive changes effected in the industry in 2007, have been for good.

Today, most real estate companies have woken up to the benefits of reputation management and PR strategies. I am no longer the only woman, at least at corporate offices though not much has changed at site offices.

While I would like to see more women as decision makers in real estate companies, at least a beginning has been made in the PR and corporate communications level and at the second generation of family run companies.

I still work in a male-dominated industry but I feel more welcome and at home in this sector now, which is being more inclusive towards women. That can only mean good things for me and this sector in the time to come.