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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 26 March 2025 F E A T U R E S T O R Y THE FUTURE OF MORTGAGE LENDING: WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN Over the years, networking, education, and mentorship programs have helped women overcome barriers to create a diverse and inclusive workforce that matches up well with the diverse clientele that every mortgage company desires to serve. B y C H R I S T I N A DA T T I L I O & S E L E N A T O W N S E N D T he mortgage industry has traditionally been dominated by men, and although we have made laudable progress, women in our space still face challenges in terms of pay equity, bias, and advancement. According to zippia.com, of the nearly 240,000 Loan Officers in the U.S., 55.3% are men. Even though women hold more than 44% of the positions, equal pay has not caught up consistently with women, who make on average 87% of what men earn. Women do hold a dominant per- centage of Mortgage Processor positions, at 78%, and 56% of marketing positions. While that is an indicator that have made some healthy inroads into the business, those roles are traditionally lower paying than the more lucrative loan officer and executive roles and are usually the first to experience a layoff when business contracts. And although women have made some advances into leadership positions, it has not been easy. Historically, women have had to traverse an arduous path into the upper echelons of a company's hierar- chy. One of the ways they found success in this process was by supporting each other in those efforts. Long before corporations put structures in place to help women rise up through the ranks, women have relied on their own initiatives to overcome barriers. They have accomplished this through tried-and-true programs such as network- ing, education, and mentorship. Networking T railblazing women in every industry have often found themselves alone and struggling to be heard. This is true for women at the highest levels, including the White House. In George Stephanopoulos's 2024 book, The Situation Room, he notes the dearth of women working in the Situation Room from its inception in the 1960s. Even when women began to gain access to the Sit Room, he recounts their frustration when their suggestions were ignored, or even worse, were acted upon and then credited to one of the men at the table. Madeline Albright—who had her own challenges in being heard in her po- sition as Secretary of State—was quoted as saying to her colleagues, "Women, you have to stop it! You've got to have a net- work." She encouraged women to speak up for themselves and for each other in the meetings. The women did just that, gaming the system by coordinating with each other in advance of meetings, mon- itoring the course of the discussion, and ensuring they and their colleagues were heard and credited. Networking, especially in challenging circumstances, can help women navigate their situation with more confidence and vision. Such was the case with University Federal Credit Union Chief Lending Offi- cer Christy Soukhamneut who spoke on the podcast Lessons From Last Time with Ken Perry about her own personal chal- lenges in navigating the past few years, which featured the COVID-19 shutdown followed by a deteriorating and volatile mortgage market. "I feel so lucky that I had a group of amazing and strong women who sup- ported me through that," Soukhamneut said. "I had recently joined a women's net- working group with other senior women leaders from outside of our industry. Having this group of women around me C H R I S T I N A D A T T I L I O is SVP, Producing Area Manager with Certainty Home Lending. She has more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage lending space. She may be reached by email at chirstina.dattilio@ certaintyhomelending.com. S E L E N A T O W N S E N D is an SVP, Regional Operations Manager with Certainty Home Lending. She has 25- plus years of experience in the mortgage lending industry. She may be reached via email at stownsend@certaintyhomelend- ing.com.