‘The Tables I Sit At Are Starting To Look More Diverse,’ Time Equities Chief Of Staff Talks Female Empowerment In Real Estate

The chief of staff at Time Equities Inc. is working to effect change for women throughout the real estate industry, starting with inside her firm.

The developer was founded in 1966 and 31.1 million square feet of residential and commercial property in its portfolio, in the United States and around the globe, including 20 rental buildings in New York City. Recently, it built 50 West St., a 64-story condo tower in the Financial District.

Natalie Diaz started with the Time Equities (TEI) in 2011 as an assistant to its founder, Francis Greenburger. In her current role, while still helping Greenburger prepare for speaking engagements and other duties to assist him, she oversees the firm’s marketing, communications and human resources departments.

Seeing a need to empower TEI’s female employees, last year Diaz founded its Women’s Equity Committee (WEC), comprised of women from all levels in the company. Intrigued by her mission, I asked Diaz about the WEC, and how similar programs can change the experience of women in the real estate industry.

Heather Senison: Can you please describe your career path? How does one become chief of staff at a development firm?

Natalie Diaz: By accident, I suppose. I double-majored in Art History and Art Practice and History at Williams College. After graduation, I worked for the Williams Club of New York, the only non-Ivy League school clubhouse in the city. After 98 years of existence, in the depths of the Great Recession, the club closed and moved to The Princeton Club. I was asked to lead the transition to the new location, which was no small feat. Around that time, I heard one of Francis Greenburger’s assistants was leaving the role. Quite frankly, I never saw myself in an assistant position. But I also wasn’t sure exactly what direction I wanted my career to go in at that time. I Googled Francis and saw a large sculpture of his head suspended in midair and thought, “this is not your typical real estate CEO.” After learning more about Time Equities, Francis, and his various business, political, and philanthropic interests, I decided to take the job. Here I am nearly nine years later as the firm’s chief of staff.

HS: What is the Women’s Equity Committee, and why did you see a need for it?

ND: Last year, I founded the Women’s Equity Committee (WEC) at Time Equities, comprised of women from various departments and seniority levels in the company. The WEC seeks to serve as the body through which the policies, ideas and commitments to diversity at Time Equities become reality. Commitments to diversity and inclusion must be coupled with concrete actions to become effective, so we formed this committee to make policy recommendations, to senior leadership, on how we can expand or improve various policies and commitments. While the WEC’s primary focus is gender equality at Time Equities, our efforts are intersectional and will be applied to our firm’s broader vision of maintaining a high level of diversity across the company.

HS: What has the committee accomplished so far, and what do you want to do in the future?

ND: The WEC has spent our first year defining the scope and priorities of our efforts. In October, we announced our business plan to the entire company. Our initial priorities focus on hiring practices to drive diversity, developing a recommendation for a maternity/ paternity leave policy that improves on our current offerings, developing a framework to analyze pay equity, and devising and implementing strategies for the advancement of women in the company. We are also going for small wins. Earlier this year, we started supplying menstrual pads and tampons in our women’s restrooms. As a company that stands for opportunity and advancement for women, we think about women’s needs and fill them wherever possible.  

HS: Real estate development has long been considered a male-dominated field. Is this something you notice first-hand? Do you see it changing? 

ND: Because of the high barrier to entry and the history of property ownership as a family business, the real estate industry has long been known as a “boys’ club.” It’s pretty easy to make that sweeping statement, but that is a generalization. I believe there is great importance in recognizing the specifics of gender disparity in the real estate industry. I lean on Commercial Real Estate Women Network (CREW)’s excellent reporting for industry-wide specifics, and would like to highlight three important facts: women represent approximately 35% of the commercial real estate workforce in the United States, including only 9% of C-suite positions in the industry, and women’s average income is 23.3% lower than that of men in the field. I think it is clear that real estate is still a male-dominated industry. But major firms and owners of real estate are finally starting to recognize the value of diversifying their workforce, and we are slowly starting to see things change. It will take time, but the tables I sit at are starting to look more diverse.

HS: How can more women get involved in real estate development? 

ND: I think the way that women can get involved in real estate development is the same way that men or non-binary individuals get involved, by acquiring the specific skill sets necessary to enter the industry. That is step one. From there, it takes companies – HR teams, real estate owners and senior executives, managers – to create a level playing field in their recruitment practices to hire a diverse workforce. And once we are in the door, it takes corporate cultures to create environments that will support the growth of women in their companies, just as we are trying to do at TEI via our WEC. 

HS: What kinds of programs create an environment that supports women’s career growth?

ND: An example of this is the importance of mentorship opportunities. Three years ago, I founded the TEI Connect mentorship program to bring employees together across departments to improve the sharing of information, cultivation of skills and communication of best practices throughout the company. Mentorship, sponsorship and advocacy are especially important for women to advance in the workforce, particularly in a male-dominated industry, company, and/or culture.

HS: What else are you working on at Time Equities that you’re especially proud of right now?

ND: I am working on the colossal, exciting project of building a new website for Time Equities. It’s our face to the world, and an incredibly important medium to communicate the work we do, the global footprint of our portfolio and scope of services, and our values. Stay tuned for the new timeequities.com.