Laurie Baker, COO at Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), says the importance of gender equity and diversity within the commercial real estate industry has been amplified as a result of the pandemic.

Speaking on Nareit’s REIT Report, Baker said that while more women are rising to key leadership positions across the industry, the pandemic “in many ways stalled the progress that was being made because they [women] were disproportionately forced to choose between careers and caregiving for their family.”

At the same time, Baker said, the pandemic also presented opportunities in the form of new forms of flexibility and “resetting definitions of career satisfaction and what company success and personal success is.”

Baker, who was named COO in late 2021, also reflected on her more than two decades at Camden, including her work implementing pioneer revenue management technology as well as helping to create Camden’s first investment funds.

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