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WCR HISTORY
In 1924, the California Real Estate Association formed a
Women's Division after members founded the idea on a train ride home from the
National Association's convention in Washington, D.C.
Fourteen years later, Joseph Catherine, the 1938 president of the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (then called the National Association of Real Estate
Boards) encouraged the formation of the Women.s Council after being impressed by
the California group and the immense potential of women in real estate.
At the time, NAR was already 30 years old and most decisions were still made at
the Local Board level. Unfortunately, most Local Boards were still resistant to
women. However, the National Association was ready to recognize women in real
estate and a positive vote resulted in the formation of a women's division at
the Annual Convention held in Milwaukee in November of 1938. Thirty-seven
ambitious women represented nine states at that meeting and WCR's inception.
Through the decades, WCR's membership growth reflected the vast number of women
choosing a career in real estate. Women began to recognize the immense benefits
of careers in real estate combined with a WCR membership, including:
- Salaries equitable to men's since "commission in commission".
- Flexible work schedules allowing REALTORS® the ability to raise a family
and have a career instead of choosing one or the other.
- A support system of women in the same field garnering many friendships,
networking capabilities and referrals.
Gaining confidence through association with other professional women
REALTORS®.
- Recognition for their own achievements and success as well as inspiration
and courage to strive for greater successes.
In 1984, WCR established the Leadership Training Graduate (LTG) designation.
Courses covering communication, personal power, group dynamics, meeting
management, leadership, public speaking and technology were part of the program,
which fostered leadership and professionalism in career and personal life.
In 1989, WCR established the Referral & Relocation Certification (RRC) and in
1994, the RRC was incorporated into the LTG program.
1998 saw the creation of the annual WCR Leadership Academy, which in its very
first year won the prestigious Leadership Development Trophy in Chapter
Relations from the American Society of Association Executives. The Academy
provides over 200 local chapter presidents-elect with in-depth chapter
management training so that they embark on their year truly equipped to lead
their chapters with confidence.
In 1999, the Council approved a Statement of Diversity: The Women's Council of
REALTORS® empowers its members to embrace and celebrate diversity in the
marketplace.
WCR publishes Connections and the Referral Roster. Connections is particularly
unique in that it offers articles on business and personal growth topics
specifically targeted to real estate professionals, especially women. The
Referral Roster is a critical resource for WCR members, which lists the entire
membership and provides links for referrals. WCR's Web site, launched in 1996,
is an additional referral tool with daily updates to all member records and over
20,000 active hotlinks to members' e-mail addresses and Web sites.
At the 2003 National Conference in San Francisco WCR launched the Performance
Management Network Designation.
It's a next-generation REALTOR® designation designed from the ground up to bring
you real-world skills that will keep your business out front and on top of a
dynamic real estate market. The first course in the new curriculum, Effective
Negotiating for Real Estate Professionals, premiered at the National Conference
with record-breaking turn out. With 330 students, it was the most highly
attended initial offering of any WCR course to date.
Today, with more than 280 Chapters and 18,000 members, WCR is the 12th largest
U.S. Women's professional organization and has one of the most successful
communication networks in the NAR family. Chapters include men and women who
support the objectives of WCR and are interested in serving the industry, the
community and fellow REALTORS®.
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