Pulice is making a difference in bid to smash glass ceiling.

During the 1990s, Jodi Pulice was working as a broker with a major commercial firm.

She was handling big accounts and managing to make her mark in the business, but she was struck by how few woman-owned companies existed within her industry.

Corporations and government entities were just beginning to adopt supplier diversity initiatives by awarding key real estate projects to minority and women-owned businesses. In 1996, she embraced the need to fill this niche and established JRT Realty Group, Inc. as a woman-owned business in every sense of the word.

"Being in real estate for more than 24 years now, I still feel like the minority in a male-dominated field," explained Pulice, who remains as president of the firm, which is marking its tenth anniversary this year.

"The difference between then and now is that supplier diversity has gained greater acceptance and minority and women-owned businesses have achieved enhanced credibility due to a rigorous certification process. As a result, corporate supplier diversity is making greater strides."

Once synonymous with government contracts, supplier diversity initiatives have evolved into social responsibility programs developed by corporations, government agencies and other non-profit organizations.

"Supplier diversity initiatives in the service industries, particularly in real estate, are showing signs of advancement," noted Pulice. "For those companies in which upper management supports these initiatives--both philosophically and through implementation--there have been a number of notable achievements and success stories."

Today, JRT Realty is recognized as the nation's leading woman-owned commercial real estate services firm with a current and past client roster that includes the Federal Deposit and Insurance Commission (FDIC), America Online (AOL), Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF).

Most recently, JRT Realty along with its strategic alliance partner, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., represented New York Life in a leasing transaction at Metrotech Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The firm also has garnered multiple coveted minority and women business-owner certifications, including the Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) certification awarded by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). "When WBENC was established, and rapidly became the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women nationwide, firms like JRT Realty gained newfound credibility in the marketplace," added Pulice. "Certification by WBENC and other similar organizations has contributed toward JRT Realty's viability and legitimized the concept of 'woman-owned' universally."

As JRT Realty continued to strengthen its market presence, its comprehensive commercial real estate services and new client service benchmarks for long-term success rivaled large, established firms. Leasing and management assignments also were on the rise, and successful local ventures soon evolved into national projects. "This was a key turning point in terms of our company direction," explained Pulice.

JRT Realty had successfully expanded from a regional, New York area provider to a nationwide player in key office and industrial markets and submarkets in California, Boston, Florida, Texas and Washington state.

As the commercial real estate landscape continued to rise and prosper, decline and recover, JRT Realty's agility won the respect and recognition of industry and corporate leaders alike.

In 2003, Cushman & Wakefield formed a strategic alliance with JRT Realty. "We wanted to expand our services into a more global arena so it was--and continues to be--a positive collaborative relationship for both firms," added Pulice.

While there have been strides, Pulice acknowledges that there is still room for a great deal of progress. "In general, a glass ceiling still does exist," she noted. "However, I continue to be encouraged each time a corporate diversity division is empowered by upper management to reject the status quo and award contracts and project assignments to minority or women-owned businesses.

"Each and every time this happens, I feel like I'm making a difference in this educational process."