Youvania Moore gets negative thoughts but rarely entertains them long enough to halt her progress.
Moore is the Chief Managing Officer of Thomas Moore Properties, LLC, a real estate firm in Gallatin, Tennessee. Moore is spearheading a 41-unit mixed-use Tri-Water Development project. This affordable housing development is pedestrian-friendly and incorporates residential and commercial spaces.
Landing development deals is challenging for women, who own fewer than three percent of real estate firms. Like most successful female real estate developers, Moore knows she’s going against the odds. However, she rejects naysayers and barrier builders.
Her attitude is common among successful female real estate developers. They see obstacles as speed bumps, not roadblocks. These women asses the landscape, plan accordingly and remain nimble as they navigate the ever-evolving real estate development terrain. They network, forge strategic alliances, and commit to ongoing education and training.
“It's a challenge,” says Moore, who got into real estate in her early 20s to help people achieve financial goals, including home ownership.
Moore grew up in a farming community in rural Kentucky. Her mother was one of 18 children, and her father was one of 10. As a child, she watched her family take in battered women and foster children.
“One of the things that I noticed about the family, no matter where we went, it was about helping people,” says Moore. “I didn't know anything else except for helping people.”
Moore’s first foray into real estate was as an investor. She loved helping first-time home buyers secure financing and offering financial literacy education.
“I'd gotten into the habit of helping the unhoused get housing and then helping the renters go to homeownership. Then I’d help homeowners get into opening businesses,” says Moore. “Then I’d help business owners employ other people so that they could do the same.”
Before long, Moore was in the building community business, an organic precursor to real estate development. According to an article in Forbes, this type of incremental entrance into an industry is one reason female entrepreneurs perform better than their male counterparts.
Yet investors, venture capitalists, and bankers are more likely to invest in male-owned businesses.
Statistical Snapshot
Women in Real Estate: According to the National Association of Realtors, 62 percent of real estate agents are women. In commercial real estate, women comprise 36.7 percent of the workforce.
Leadership Representation: Despite women comprising most real estate agents, they are notably absent from top leadership roles. According to NAR, more than one-third of U.S. real estate and related professionals perceive a glass ceiling hindering women's advancement to executive positions.
Female Real Estate Developers: A New York Times (January 2025) article noted that Women own just 2.8 percent of real estate firms and occupy 9 percent of the C-suite in commercial real estate. Black people represent just 0.4 percent of developers and Hispanic people 0.16 percent. Only 1.8 percent of real estate firms are minority-owned.
Challenges Faced by Women in Real Estate Development
Gender Bias and Stereotypes: People with persistent biases often question women's competence in handling large-scale development projects, leading to fewer opportunities and mentorship prospects. According to an Urban Land Institute survey, women make up 25 percent of the organization's membership but only 14 percent of its CEOs.
The demanding nature of real estate development, with its long hours and high-pressure environment, can make it challenging for women to balance professional and personal responsibilities. Some attitudes toward traditional gender roles create implicit bias against female real estate developers.
Limited Access to Capital: Securing funding is more challenging for women, as investors may doubt their expertise.
Alicia Glen founded the New York City-based MSquared real estate firm, which develops mixed-income and mixed-use projects. Glen was the Deputy Mayor of New York City and an executive with Goldman Sachs. She told the New York Times that when it comes to financing projects, women have to clear more hurdles than men.
“Somebody with my résumé leaving government, and with all the sort of fancy titles I have, and education, and running a big business at Goldman Sachs, and being the deputy mayor, for all this, I had trouble raising money,” Glen told the Times. “My male counterparts — takes them two phone calls, they can raise a billion dollars.”
Structural and institutional resistance: Beyond simple bias, female real estate developers face persistent structural and institutional barriers. The industry maintains systemic obstacles, from restricted access to capital—women receive only a fraction of commercial real estate loans compared to their male counterparts—to exclusion from established networks where deals are often negotiated informally, such as on golf outings.
Financial institutions may impose higher interest rates and more stringent requirements on women-led development projects despite research showing comparable or better performance outcomes.
The absence of women in leadership positions at major development firms and lending institutions creates a self-perpetuating cycle, with few mentorship opportunities and limited pathways for advancement. Even when women secure funding, they often encounter prejudice from contractors, municipal officials, and investors who question their technical knowledge or leadership capabilities.
“Breaking through structural and institutional resistance requires a strategic, relationship-driven approach that focuses on uncovering the root causes of resistance and shifting toward a shared “yes,” says Jennifer Horne, CEO and Founder of Nashville-based Urban Campus & Core. “At UCC, we recognize that resistance often isn’t just about the immediate “no” we hear—it’s about underlying concerns, risk perceptions, or systemic barriers that have prevented innovation or new ways of considering an opportunity in the past.”
Urban Campus & Core recently broke ground on the Northview project, a 254-unit active senior, affordable housing complex.
Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles
Networking and Mentorship: Building robust professional networks and seeking mentorship are crucial. Moore and Horne participated in the inaugural cohort of R.E.D. (Real Estate Developers) Academy, a program offered through the Urban League of Middle Tennessee (ULMT), that provides training, mentorships, and financing for developers.
Horne serves on the board of several civic and non-profit organizations, which helps to keep her immersed in the communities her business serves.
Carlina Bell-Rollins, executive director of the William Franklin Buchanan Community Development Corporation, also participated in the program. She considered R.E.D. more than a mentorship. It offered her a chance to address the needs of underserved communities, which motivated her to get into real estate development.
“Affordable housing has always been a problem. The city of Nashville and Davidson County need more than 30,000 units but they are not being built fast enough,” Bell-Rollins told the ULMT. “And my agency is not at the table, but we should be involved. This is a solvable problem (that the R.E.D. Academy cohort can impact).”
Now, Moore helps others. She is the first female co-chair of the ULI Nashville’s Pathways to Inclusion, a program that cultivates the development of minorities as leaders in ULI and their professions.
“You hear that your network is your net worth,” says Moore. “That's what builds you up and builds you up strong. I've had people who said no and came back and said, you know, I asked about you. So that's when, you know it works.”
Horne and Moore served in leadership positions on the Tennessee-Women’s Affordable Housing Network (WAHN). Horne is a member of BrainTrust, a collective of diverse women business owners intent on using their businesses to build financial independence, wealth, and influence – together.
“I look for values alignment,” says Horne. “I try to spend time participating in events and associations that have values that align with our firm. Often the people I meet there share those values and it is easy to build relationships from there.”
Embracing Technology and Innovation: Women are leveraging technology to gain a competitive edge. For instance, Jade Mills, President of Jade Mills Estates, has effectively utilized digital platforms to enhance her business, demonstrating the importance of technological proficiency in modern real estate.
“I think it is human to recognize that no one person can know everything and sometimes you feel like you may be missing a piece to the puzzle,” says Horne. “It is at those times I remind myself that finding the missing pieces is what I enjoy about innovation and I remind myself how no one has done anything new that hasn’t had to find a different way to accomplish an old task.”
Continuous Skill Development: Ongoing education and skill enhancement are vital. Engaging in professional development programs and staying abreast of industry trends can empower women to excel in leadership roles.
Colleges, conferences, workshops, seminars, and organizations provide ample opportunities for career growth. Horne holds an executive leadership certification in Sustainability from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“I think female developers offer a perspective and experience that is extremely valuable and unique to their lived experiences —one that prioritizes accessible design, community engagement, and sustainable, people-centered development,” says Horne. “By building strong relationships among women in the field, we create a powerful ecosystem of support, knowledge-sharing, and opportunities that benefit individual developers and the broader communities we serve.”