Anyone who has been in L.A. commercial real estate for more than five minutes knows the stereotype: USC grad, Jonathan Club member, Mercedes owner and most of all, a guy. Like all stereotypes, there is more than a modicum of truth to it; so much so that we wrote about the phenomenon several months ago.

This week, we go beyond the stereotype with a special report devoted to women in real estate. It might come as a surprise that there are lots of them many in senior positions who hold significant authority, but none who really call the shots (a reflection, really, of most American businesses).

Their progress remains punctuated with subtle and not-so-subtle sexism certainly not on the order of 30 years ago when women made the coffee and took the dictation and were generally treated like a piece of office furniture, but sexism nonetheless that sometimes gets in the way of doing business.

Our examination of women in commercial real estate was led by Elizabeth Hayes and begins on page 23.

Mark Lacter

Editor