Women Leaders Boost Community Association Management Profession
Community Associations Institute recognizes the role of women in the common-interest community industry and profession.
March 8, 2018 – Falls Church, VA – The number of women choosing careers in the community association management profession continues an upward trend, according to Community Associations Institute (CAI), the leading authority in community association education, governance, and management.
In observance of International Women's Day, March 8, CAI is recognizing women within the community association industry. There are thousands of stories about women's struggles in the workplace, but it's not a topic you're likely to read or hear about in community association management.
According to the 2017 Community Association Manager Compensation and Salary Survey, released by the Foundation for Community Association Research (FCAR) in late 2017, today more than 60 percent of professional community managers are women. Additionally, the data shows that more than half of all community management CEOs and management company executives are also female.
For more than 40 years, CAI has worked with some of the nation's most successful management companies founded and led by female entrepreneurs. “My first two supervisors in this field were both women and the CEOs of their companies," says Wendy Taylor, CMCA, LSM, PCAM, a large-scale community manager in South Riding, Va. “Community management has less of a gender bias than other career paths, and with salaries becoming more and more competitive, there are many opportunities to grow."
The survey also shows that the majority of female managers (55 percent) oversee community associations with budgets of more than $5 million. Female survey respondents identify employee benefits, such as telework, flexible work schedules, and professional development, as top advantages to working in the community association management profession.
“Historically, community managers stumbled upon the community association profession, and we're now witnessing—through education opportunities—that more of the workforce is choosing to enter this growing field," says Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI's chief executive officer. “From entry level to executives, there are no barriers in our industry for women to achieve great things, whether it is a new career, managing a master-planned community, or starting their own business.
Since 1973, CAI and the professions that support the millions of community associations worldwide—like community association management, accounting, banking, law, and several other specialties—have provided women with a wide range of career opportunities. These women have been instrumental in building and shaping a rapidly growing industry where today, 21 percent of the U.S. population now resides in community associations, also known as planned communities (e.g., homeowners associations, condominium communities, and housing cooperatives), according to the Statistical Review 2016: Summary of Key Association Data and Information, also published by the Foundation.
Visit www.caionline.org/2017SalarySurvey to learn more.
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About Community Associations Institute
Since 1973, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been the leading provider of resources and information for homeowners, volunteer board leaders, professional managers, and business professionals in 342,000 community associations, condominiums, and co-ops in the United States and millions of communities worldwide. With more than 36,000 members, CAI works in partnership with 63 affiliated chapters within the U.S., Canada, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa, as well as with housing leaders in several other countries including Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom.
A global nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, CAI is the foremost authority in community association management, governance, education, and advocacy. Our mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership, and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in community associations that are preferred places to call home. Visit us at www.caionline.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @CAISocial.