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Even though Kira Cador‘s father owned a development company, she didn’t decide to follow his footsteps until she met a woman involved in the industry.

鈥淪he was a real estate attorney, and she told me 鈥� 鈥榊ou can do this. It’s not rocket science,’ 鈥� Cador said. 鈥淲hen you have a woman that says that to you and gives you support, it’s a lot easier to plug away.鈥�

That was 22 years ago. Now, Cador, president of , develops multimillion-dollar housing projects along the West Coast.

She considers herself fortunate to have had a female mentor (in addition to her father) teach her the ins and outs of the development business. In the past, she said, women struggled to break into the field because they did not have anyone to relate to.

Today, the industry still is dominated by men. However, Cador and other women developers believe that is starting to change because more women are becoming mentors and more women are being exposed to the development profession.

鈥淲e’ve all acknowledged that it’s important to create environments where women can come up through the business or feel supported in an organization,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o me, it’s more helpful (to talk to women) than 鈥� to men.鈥�

Cador said she and other women developers have teamed together to help educate young developers on how to succeed in the industry, just as she was taught.

As with many other industries, development is about building relationships; they’re the key to moving forward, according to Julie Gibson, assistant director at the .

鈥淢entors are critical in the field to guide you in your career,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s a huge asset to combine academic training with real-world experience.鈥�

As part of her mission to inform students 鈥� women and men 鈥� how to enter the real estate industry, Gibson has reached out to women undergrads. Many of the classes within PSU’s real estate program are taught by women with professional experience; women students can relate to them, Gibson said.

One such teacher is Dee Walsh, executive director of . She teaches because she remembers how difficult it was to enter the industry without a mentor.

鈥淥ne of the reasons I teach at PSU in the real estate program is to provide young women with role models in development,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 bring in a number of female lecturers to the class to help expose them to the range of options available to them.鈥�

Some women developers didn’t rely on women mentors. Vanessa Sturgeon, president of , was introduced to the industry by her father and grandfather. She said she believes that women can succeed by maintaining confidence and not focusing on the gender aspect.

Anyeley Hallova, a partner with , learned about the business from Tom Cody, the managing partner at the firm. Cody hired Hallova in 2007 to work at Gerding Edlen Development, where he was formerly a partner, and introduced her to the industry.

However, both Sturgeon and Hallova recognize that more women are mentoring; Sturgeon said she has mentored multiple men and women herself. And they agreed that more women mentors could influence the number of women in the industry.

鈥淔or any women breaking in the field, there has to be some sort of connection,鈥� Hallova said. 鈥淭he history of (development) has more to do with the father passing down to the son 鈥� and because of that I don’t think there’s a lot of awareness of who developers are and how you become one.鈥�

Clearer academic paths 鈥� like the real estate program at PSU, for example 鈥� are increasing awareness, she added.

Sometimes, Hallova said, women have opportunities that men don’t 鈥� such as a position with a company seeking greater diversity. However, women sometimes still face challenges and negative assumptions in the industry; having someone to relate to can make a big difference, Cador said.

鈥淲ith the challenges you’re facing, you appreciate the relationships with other women in that capacity,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey come in at the same level.鈥�