Our partner Ann M. Waeger was an invited speaker at the 3rd Annual Groundbreaking Women in Construction Conference, which was held on May 8-9, 2012 in New York City. Approximately 250 women professionals affiliated with the building, construction, architecture, engineering, real estate and development sectors attended the event, which focuses on leadership trends and strategies for women CEOs, decision makers and professionals in those industries.

Ms. Waeger is a member of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network, and her remarks at the conference addressed CREW Network’s benchmark study, "Women in Commercial Real Estate 2010," which found that women expressed far more dissatisfaction with their careers than men.

Ms. Waeger was quoted in the Engineering News-Record’s coverage of the conference:

“To better understand the difference in men's and women's feelings, we interviewed 20 CEOs and others,” said Waeger. “We wanted to encourage the industry to find new ways to keep women on a successful track, to get them to achieve financial parity and to help women who are exceptionally talented to advance to the C-suite.”

Ms. Waeger explained that CREW's white paper finds a lack of sponsorship to be a factor holding women in the "talent-rich level of management just below the C-suite." Often, men have sponsors, and women have mentors. Waeger added, "It's critical for high-potential women to have a sponsor to provide them access to people at the highest echelons."

Women also need to take an active role in their careers. Waeger said, "Understand the value of your skills. Stay connected. Communicate your wants and needs. Toot your own horn and network, network, network."

Ann Waeger is a partner in our firm’s Real Estate Department. She advises clients on matters related to industrial and commercial real estate transactions, the formation of business entities and the financing of real property and business assets. She handles major brownfield redevelopment projects and has a particular focus on the role of environmental insurance policies in contaminated property and brownfield deals, and as a component of overall risk management programs.

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Contacts:
Diana Parker
Director of Business Development
732-476-2464
dparker@greenbaumlaw.com  

Erin P. Faltin
Assistant Director of Marketing
732-476-3278
efaltin@greenbaumlaw.com