Women power in real estate

This Women’s month, PropTech company Property Guru honors women who are driving meaningful change in the real estate industry.

One of the global honorees feted for her unique contributions to the property sector is Jessica Bianca “Jica” T. Sy, SM Development Corporation’s vice president and head of design, innovation and strategy. Her work in integrating disaster risk reduction into property development has weathered storms and inspired progress.

“Allowing women to take part and take lead in projects is a huge factor in making sure that women feel empowered and can feel powerful in an industry that is typically male-dominated,” she said. “We have seen large strides with more designers, real estate developers and people around the industry truly supporting and being female-centric.”

She is also a key voice for the Philippines at the United Nations Leaders’ Roundtables on Resilient Infrastructure Systems and has demonstrated her designs for change go beyond aesthetics — they are about impact and inclusion.

Other honorees were Ixora Ang from Malaysia; Dora Chng from Singapore; Vivin Harsanto from Indonesia and assistant professor Dr. Kessara Thanyalakpark from Thailand.