Property developer Mandy St John Davey has been named chairman of the South Wales branch of Women in Property.
Mandy, who lives in Aberdare, has a multi-million pound property portfolio and is well known in Wales and the UK for mentoring women to enter the property and construction sectors.
The Association of Women in Property (WiP) is a UK wide organisation which has been supporting women working in the property and construction sector for nearly 30 years, promoting networking, mentoring and professional development.
Women still represent only 15% of the property and construction industry workforce. WiP is working with businesses and other industry organisations to help redress this balance. The organisation holds more than 300 events in the UK every year.
Mandy said: “This year I look forward to continuing to support our members and to encourage and help grow our young talent for the future.
“I’m also keen to promote our road shows and to provide and promote a range of events useful to entrepreneurs and SMEs.”
In South Wales, Mandy and her fellow members will continue to be active in visiting schools and colleges throughout the year.
“Our visits aim to promote and give young people an understanding of what careers are available for women in the property industry. We will attend career fayres and ‘Meet the Professional’ days,” Mandy said.
An annual highlight for WiP is its national awards programme which last year involved 48 universities and 96 students throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
For this year’s awards a winner from Wales will be announced in June, and she will go forward to the UK award ceremony in London.
Mandy bought her first property as a teenager herself but went on to enjoy a long career in training and development for local government and several law firms before making property her business 16 years ago.
Today she’s a qualified mentor and holds a post graduate certificate in Mentoring for Entrepreneurial Practice from the University of Glamorgan, a qualification aimed specifically at empowering women in non-traditional sectors.
