Women in mortgage still face crude comments and must constantly defend their credentials
Women have made major strides in the mortgage industry. They make up nearly half of all mortgage brokers, and fill a vast majority of administrative jobs in the back office.
While they still don’t make up a proportionate amount of C-suite and executive roles, more women are filling those roles each year. And at the broker level, wholesale mortgage has been one area where women have had the opportunity to earn as much as their male counterparts.
However, even though statistical conditions may be improving, this is happening despite women continuing to have to deal with crude behavior and dismissive actions from their male counterparts.
For one private lending executive who entered the industry in 2013, the limited improvements for women have been overshadowed by this behavior.
Erica LaCentra (pictured top), chief marketing officer of RCN Capital, said that despite small improvements over the last 13 years, the private lending space continues to make life difficult for women.
“I would definitely not consider the private lending space a safe space for women,” LaCentra told Mortgage Professional America. “Compared to when I started, it's gotten somewhat better, incrementally. But we still see a lot of that bro culture occurring, and a lot of just crude comments and crude behavior. I would not consider the private lending space safe.
“I think you have to go in with this mentality of, ‘You're going to get a lot of that, and you need to stand your ground and push back on that.’ But still, there are a lot of cases where I’ve been told a lot, ‘That's just kind of the way it is.’”
Questioning your abilities
LaCentra said one of the biggest improvements over the last 13 years is having more women available to provide mentorship to other women entering the industry.
“There have been tremendous strides made in terms of having women in positions of management and power,” LaCentra said. “Having that visibility, as well as those resources, those communities that are being built, the mentorship that's happening, all of that is amazing because that didn't exist when I came in. My mentor options were all men. There was not a female, typically, that I could really look to, unless I was really trying to seek out opportunities because they were few and far between. And thankfully, that's not the case now.”
Having more women in those positions provides environments where women can feel safer in the industry. But LaCentra wonders why the whole industry can’t be safe for everyone.
“There is that accessibility now, and there is that intention in terms of making those resources available, to make sure that there are those safe spaces,” she said. “But why do we need to have safe spaces? That's the biggest thing. I know that it's not just our industry, but again, that doesn't make it right.”
By having access to women’s organizations and female mentors, LaCentra said new people entering the industry have a chance to hear from those who have been through its trials and tribulations.
“Join some of those industry organizations, develop that network, and really tap into the resources that exist,” she said. “I can't stress enough: that stuff didn't exist (when I started). I think there's such a difference in terms of what you can learn. Make sure you're making every opportunity to take advantage of those resources.”
One of the other pieces of advice that industry veterans like LaCentra give to newcomers is to be prepared to defend your credentials. She said that despite all her years in the industry at a high level, it still happens to her.
“I hate to say this, because you really shouldn't have to, but you have to develop a very thick skin, and also make sure that you have confidence in yourself and your abilities,” she said. “Your work, your education, everything that you do is going to be questioned at some point. I wish that wasn't the case. Even for how long I've been in this industry at this point, I still get questioned on all my knowledge in the space.
“You just have to have such a different level of confidence when you're dealing with some of these folks, because people are going to call your confidence into question at the most bizarre times. Make sure you have that level of confidence, and you build up that thick skin to be able to say, ‘No, I do know what I'm talking about,’ and be okay pushing back on that stuff.”
For someone who has seen the growth of the private lending space firsthand, the fact that LaCentra has to defend her credentials can be exasperating.
“The people who have been around since close to the start, we've seen a lot, and we have learned a lot,” she said. “I can tell you some crazy stories. Especially when your competence and your knowledge base get called into question, you want to just be like, ‘You don't know the shit I've seen.’”
Finding a supportive company
One thing that has allowed LaCentra to flourish in the industry despite all of the noise is finding a company that would have her back. She believes that RCN Capital has done that for her, and she hopes other women in the industry can find a company that supports them the same way.
“Find a company that at least has somewhat of a moral compass, or has leaders that really empower female employees, rather than playing into that whole ‘macho bro’ narrative,” she said. “There are a lot of companies in the private lending space and mortgage space that still have a lot of that ingrained mentality. I think there are a lot of companies that are doing a better job of pushing through that, and having better company culture.”
If she hadn’t landed with a supportive company when getting into the industry, LaCentra isn’t sure she’d still be in private lending.
“If you can find and identify companies and work with companies that have those positive qualities, I think that also makes a tremendous difference,” she said. “That's why I've been with RCN for as long as I have. When you face so much adversity in the industry as a whole, and so much pushback, if you're also not getting support from the company that you work with, and the management of the company that you work with, there's not a shot in hell that I would still be in this industry.”
Have you experienced challenges in the workplace similar to what Erica is describing? Let us know, and we can include those experiences in a future story. Email the author at matt.sexton@keymedia.com.
This article is part of our Monthly Spotlight series, which in April focuses on women in mortgage. Full coverage can be found here.
