Women make up nearly two-thirds of real estate agents in the country, but when it comes to ownership and power, those numbers tell a different story. For Women's History Month, I am highlighting a group of Milwaukee women taking it a step further by building a business designed to empower women and help more families reach homeownership.
At Gardner and Associates, it is about more than closing deals. It is about opening doors. For broker and owner Charese Gardner, that means building a space where other women can grow, learn, and lead.
“I wanted to be like the person that someone looks up to as the reason why they're a broker,” Gardner said.
Gardner has been in real estate for more than two decades, but says the road to ownership was not easy.
“At first it was pretty difficult… trying to get into like commercial real estate, the men, they were like mean at first…” Gardner said.
Watch: Milwaukee women change the face of real estate ownership by empowering agents, helping families buy homes
Now she is turning those challenges into opportunities, leading a brokerage with 10 women and one man that is redefining what leadership looks like.
“It inspires me to be their mentor, you know, and I remind them that like I'm not your boss, right? I'm your broker, you're your own, you know you're your own boss," Gardner said.
For newer agents like Naomi Crowley and Leandra Wohner, that support goes far beyond real estate.
“I think it's important… educating myself in the finance field not only allows for me to grow but to allow my people in my community to grow as well through the knowledge I can give to them,” Crowley said.
“You go in the inner city, you see a lot of boarded-up houses. I just want to be that realtor that's fixing up these houses and getting investors through the door and changing our community,” Wohner said.
Together, they are not just building careers; they are building confidence, community, and a new standard. For Gardner, the mission is clear: share knowledge, create opportunity, and lift others as you climb. Her advice for future female real estate agents:
“Go for it. Don't give up…” Gardner said.
She is making sure the next generation of women walks into this industry with more support, more confidence, and more power.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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