AREW's 1978 presidents message: Initial event a success

Welcome to the Women's Committee of the Real Estate Industry of New York City. The overwhelming attendance at our first luncheon of 175 women is an indication of the interest in and need for our organization. The speakers' comments at our recent luncheon have produced reactions ranging from rave reviews to raving mad, often from the same person. Many of the women present also expressed surprise at the number of female professionals in real estate. Imagine how the "boys" felt! In spite of our feelings on the matter, the speakers were telling it like it is, though this may have been unintentional in some cases. For the women embarking on a real estate career, if you haven't yet encountered the problems brought to life by the speakers, you will. To those who have "paid their dues" and attained experience and professional status, there were no surprises. There is no question that progress notwithstanding, there remains the tough uphill struggle to limit the word "girls" to females under 21. We feel that the need for our organization has been emphatically demonstrated. Our objective is to work together to ease and hasten the entry and advancement of women in real estate. With your support, we will accomplish that objection. Anything that is worthwhile is difficult and the goal of acceptance as women professionals is not yet totally achieved. We've only planned the next two meetings so that all of you will be able to have a more immediate impact on the direction of the organization. Monday, January 22, 1979 will be a cocktail party at the Cloud Club of the Chrysler Building. This should give all of us the opportunity to meet in an informal setting, exchange ideas on what we want from the group and learn how each of us can contribute to its success. Our next Regular Luncheon Meeting will be March 6, 1979. It will feature a program on property management and how it affects all of us. The women panelists will represent many facets of the topic from commercial to residential properties. Details of both programs as well as all January committee meetings will be included in the newsletter that you will receive early in January, but please mark your calendars now! Merle Gross-Ginsburg was the 1978 president of the Association of Real Estate Women, New York, N.Y.