Special Women's Month: EY Brazil Partner, Roberta Tedesco, shares insights on career and leadership

REsource: How did you enter the Real Estate market?

Roberta Tedesco (RT): My journey in Real Estate began with Valuation, still in college, working as an intern in Judicial Experts – Civil Engineers, experts in real estate valuations for various purposes, such as mortgage executions or evaluations of bankruptcies.

After a mandatory break for a year – to focus on cancer treatment at 23 – I sought to re-enter the market and returned to the Real Estate Valuation field, but this time, working in a company where the purposes were even more diverse, and I gained a deeper insight into the real estate market.

In 2011, I joined EY as a manager, still focused on company asset valuations (including real estate) but expanding into the major movement of the Brazilian market with the boom of Real Estate Investment Funds (REITs), which were gaining even more strength, including due to improvements in regulations by the CVM (Securities and Exchange Commission). In this sense, the regulatory view demanded even more from Real Estate Valuation for mark-to-market of these REITs.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to develop EY's Real Estate area as it is today, beyond real estate valuations, strengthening services and solutions extremely relevant to the Real Estate Market, with feasibility studies, viability studies, master plans/business plans, real estate structuring plans, among others. I had the opportunity to participate in projects such as the Consortium that structured the model that will bring back to the city of Rio de Janeiro the old “Canecão”, a project of great relevance to the Culture of our country, the Revision of the Master Plan of Porto Alegre, which generated a profound study on Sustainable Cities and the role of the Master Plan in building a sustainable future.

REsource: What were the main challenges you faced along the way? Were there any gender-related difficulties?

RT: There are several gender-related difficulties faced by women throughout their careers. This tends to become even more critical in sectors where they are still underrepresented, such as technology, finance, and engineering (which includes the Real Estate Market). I can list some of these difficulties, such as the gender pay gap with the same level of experience/education and roles, having fewer career opportunities due to pressure to assume roles and responsibilities considered more suitable for men, or balancing personal and professional life.

A passage that marked me a lot almost made me give up and change careers. I was a very senior professional in the company, managing teams and various projects with very relevant results, but unable to reach the next level of my career. I felt frozen in my position, despite taking on the functions of the next step, seeing my male colleague with visible leadership gaps taking over the management of the area, and I realized that I was experiencing the famous "glass ceiling". After the birth of my first daughter, I decided I needed to change careers, I went back to studying and pursued a new postgraduate degree completely outside my field, with the aim of changing and starting over if necessary, even with her still very young.

It was a difficult stage, but the desire to leave what I imagined Real Estate was no longer an option was so strong, and the only way was radical change. Eventually, I had the opportunity to find my place at EY, without having to abandon my career, and I was able to develop my journey becoming a Partner responsible for the Real Estate area within the Strategy and Transactions area.

At EY, I also faced challenges, but gender equity is a priority topic, and I remember the difficulty of introducing myself into male-dominated circles when I became the first Senior Manager woman in 2012, among the 10 male Partners, Directors, and Senior Managers, but it was the beginning of a great transformation that I am proud to be a part of. Today, in the same area, we are 11 women out of a total of 22 Partners, Directors, and Senior Managers. Additionally, I have a team of over 50 direct professionals, with 50% being women, all inserted in an inclusive environment that allows them to chart their paths to success.

REsource: The real estate market still has a strong male predominance, how do you believe we can achieve more gender equity in the sector?

RT: Gender equity is not only a human rights issue or for the affected minorities – in this case, women – but also a matter of business performance. Building an inclusive environment is very valuable for our people, and for our company. The more they belong, the greater the energy, engagement, and productivity, and it also enriches our services and solutions through diversity of ideas, viewpoints, and more innovative decision-making.

It is essential to understand that building inclusive and diverse environments is everyone's responsibility and the small actions in our daily lives that can promote a culture of respect. I consider it very important to work with a broad view on Recruitment, Retention, Development, and Advancement.

Recruitment: through partnerships with schools and universities in search of professionals in the sector. It is very easy to blame the lack of women in the workforce, so taking a step before and seeking them in their schools and universities is a solution.

Retention: through an inclusive environment. The sector needs to be attentive to cultural assimilation actions (education and awareness) about the importance of gender equity and the unconscious biases so present in everyday life. It is necessary to work with incentives and benefits, such as parental leave or work flexibility.

Development: through the creation of mentoring programs or support networks for women in the Real Estate industry.

Advancement: through clear goals and monitoring, indicators that ensure that gender initiatives are actually fulfilling the commitments of companies that are willing to transform.

REsource: How has the presence of women impacted and transformed EY? Are there any gender equity data for the company?

RT: According to the 17th Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum, it is estimated that, at the current pace, it would take about 131 years to achieve gender parity. In EY Brazil, almost half of our population (49.94%) is female, and the pursuit of representation in leadership positions is a priority for us.

In 2019, we set a goal to achieve a female percentage of 30%, by 2025, in our high leadership positions, which includes partners and directors. When we set the goal, we had 22%, and today, 5 years later, we have reached 28.8%, a growth of 6.8 percentage points. A result that leaves us satisfied and motivated to continue increasing the participation of women in our governance.

Five years ago, we also set the goal of having 45% of women in Senior Manager positions. In 2019, we had about 37% representation, and with great satisfaction, we reached this year of 2024 at 47%, a significant increase of 10 percentage points. We celebrate this collective achievement, which is very important for our continuous journey and brings us closer to parity.

We have a global program, Professional Women’s Network (PWN), which implements various actions and supports other gender initiatives, giving voice and establishing a support network for our women.

The presence of women has made an important contribution to EY in terms of promoting diversity and inclusion, generating innovative ideas, improving performance, and competitiveness. Through the EY Women's Forum, for example, the company has been creating an environment where gender equity is continuously discussed and encouraged by top leadership.

There are areas in the market where the presence of women is still low due to structural issues, in addition to the lack of opportunities and incentives. One of them is what we call STEM, encompassing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In this sense, we invest in EY's internal program called Women in Tech (WIT), which has already impacted more than 10 thousand lives. WIT has several initiatives, such as mentoring with partner NGOs, campaigns to educate and engage girls, lectures at universities to support women in this career, the campaign "Wear This Cause" in which we sell t-shirts to inspire women's careers in technology and the proceeds are donated to the NGO Inspiring Girls, and many others.

Within this movement, we have the Women in Tech Trainee Program, an initiative focused on addressing the imbalance in attracting young talents from STEM careers. In the program's first year, the result was a 20-percentage point increase in female trainees in technology positions, rising from 26% to 46%. In 2022, we had 36% of hires, and last year, we reached the milestone of 73% of women hired by the initiative.

In summary, the presence of women at EY has enriched diversity of thought, skills, and experiences, resulting in more comprehensive and innovative solutions to business challenges. The company is strongly committed to continuing to drive gender equity in all strata of its organization.

REsource: What advice would you give to women starting their careers in the real estate market?

RT: As Socrates said: "The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new." It is possible to see a world in transformation, there are companies and work environments that are already very committed to gender equity, so seek companies and relationships that have values connected with yours. Know that you will still encounter cultural traps and unconscious biases, from a still massively male leadership, but you need to be prepared for this challenge.

Be self-confident and recognize your talents – without letting the imposter syndrome haunt you; take control of your career, be persistent, and take on challenges; build relationships, seek mentors, sponsors, and allies throughout your career; communicate and develop your negotiation skills; create a balance between personal and professional life; celebrate your achievements, and be happy and love what you do.

REsource: Is there any female leadership that inspires you?

RT: There are several inspiring female leaders, with journeys of great struggle and breaking barriers. I could give hundreds of examples of inspirations, for each aspect and different moment I faced in my life. My family references, great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother – incredible women who each in their time broke paradigms, of which I am proud and am part of the history.

When I was new to EY, my daughter Letícia was 1 year and 4 months old, and I found out I was pregnant with Luana, my second daughter. At this moment, very recent in the company and still very sensitized by my search for a career restart, I was inspired by an Executive in the M&A (mergers & acquisitions) area - Marina Martins, who was pregnant at the time and gave me signs that motherhood and work at EY were compatible. I didn't know her, she was from another co-related area, but motherhood brought us together, and she became a partner at EY and led a beautiful program at EY for entrepreneurial women in which I was able to participate.

It was in that year that I had the opportunity to learn more about the story of Luiza Helena Trajano, another great inspiring woman, who is a mentor in the EY program, chairman of the board of directors of Magazine Luiza, and one of the founders of the Women of Brazil Group.