It was a sunny and extremely humid Thursday morning. Of course, that’s almost standard for Dallas, and it wasn’t going to prevent these three women from showing up to the magazine cover shoot with an energy and excitement that couldn’t be stopped. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I’d say this cover is worth so much more than that. These three Women of Influence not only carry the grace and lessons of those who have gone before them, but they’re leaving a priceless legacy for the next generation of leaders. Rebecca McDonald, chief product officer at Rocket Mortgage, Pam Perry, Single-Family vice president of Equitable Housing at Freddie Mac, and Hilary Saunders, co-founder and chief broker officer at Side, are all featured on the cover and were named to HousingWire’s 2021 Women of Influence. I had the honor of sitting down with them to learn more about the projects they’re passionate about, how they’re making a difference and what advice they’d share with those in the industry.
Here is the interview with Pam Perry, Single-Family vice president of Equitable Housing at Freddie Mac.
Brena Nath: First off, congrats on being named a 2021 Women of Influence. If you were standing on a stage giving an acceptance speech, who would you want to thank for helping you get where you are today?
Pam Perry: It would be my mother. She truly is my hero in terms of resilience. For me personally, I think that is one of the traits and characteristics that I think define most people’s careers because things rarely take a linear path. I definitely feel as if being able to pivot, being able to make lemonade from lemons, being able to keep moving forward in a purposeful manner, doing work that I feel strongly about and trying to achieve at a very high level with no particular goal in sight, other than continuing to do good and meaningful work, for me, my mother is that role model. That her life from the daughter of sharecroppers to mother of four children with graduate degrees, including five Harvard degrees among her children, she is one of the smartest people I know, and life has not been easy for her.
Brena Nath: Now, you are pioneering this new role at Freddie Mac. Can you talk to us about this role?
Pam Perry: I feel incredibly privileged to lead Freddie Mac’s racial equity efforts in the single-family mortgage space. Like most corporations, coming out of the events of 2020, Freddie Mac has looked inward and tried to determine what ways Freddie Mac can play a leadership role in advancing racial equity in the country. My team is an outgrowth of that effort. Senior management decided that this required a commitment in terms of an officer leading this team. It is my privilege to lead this team having been Freddie Mac’s fair lending lawyer for the prior nine years. We really are looking very critically at the mortgage ecosystem and looking at ways in which it doesn’t serve African American and Latinx families as well as it could and really asking tough questions as a precursor to innovating some solutions that address some of the pain points.
The system functions perfectly to create the result that it has created. If we want a different result, we need to change the system. Many of us are working on this collectively in the industry, and Freddie Mac has a unique role to play in the single-family mortgage industry, and in the single-family mortgage industry’s response to racial equity. How are we going to do better to address the Black homeownership gap, the Latinx homeownership gap? How are we going to do better to ensure that Black and Latinx families realize the wealth opportunity that homeownership provides to the majority of white families in America? I am privileged truly to lead this effort and to ask tough questions and be willing to change the system in ways that will drive meaningful impacts in terms of Black and Latinx communities.
Brena Nath: Along similar lines, can you talk about some of the initiatives you’re working on?
Pam Perry: There’s a significant homeownership gap and wealth gap between Black Americans and white Americans and a somewhat smaller, but still very significant gap, for the Latinx community relative to their white counterparts. We are laser-focused at the outset on addressing the gaps that exist for Black Americans because that is the community that has a very long-standing history, including federal policy, that contributed to some of where we are today. I refer to it as four pillars that, at the outset, I’m really purposely addressing individually, although they are somewhat related. The first is barriers to loan qualification.
The second is the expansion of financial capability. The third is addressing appraisal gaps. And then the fourth is addressing access to housing supply. In each of those pillars, I’m doing something a bit different, with a different set of partners. Freddie Mac is not going this alone; we have a different value proposition as it relates to each of those pillars. I’ve been in my role for more than six months, and I’ve really spent a lot of time listening. I think it’s critically important to ensure that we are solving for the right problems and not creating solutions for assumptions that we may be making about what are the impediments to more equitable outcomes in the housing industry for Black and Brown families.
Brena Nath: You’ve accomplished a lot in your career. What does work-life balance look like for you and/or what does it mean to you?
Pam Perry: Like many successful women, I had very little work-life balance early in my career, because I thought that “outworking” my peers was the key to success. While that’s often true for young professionals, relationships matter far more, both for professional advancement and for personal wellbeing. At 40, I gave birth to twins, and I had no choice but to shift my priorities.
Not everywhere I’ve worked has been supportive of the needs of working parents, but I’m really lucky to have landed at Freddie Mac 10 years ago, and it’s no accident that I’m still here. I’m proud to work for a company that genuinely supports women through the lifecycle of their lives and careers. The culture at Freddie Mac is that everyone has a life outside of work that’s worthy of respect. Work-life balance is about having time for rest and joy — to me that’s my family.
Brena Nath: Can you share one or two defining moments in your career that really shaped who you are today?
Pam Perry: Racial equity is important to me, and I’ve been fortunate to build a career in advancing it. I care deeply about fair housing, both as my professional calling and as a Black American. I was raised with stories of housing discrimination faced by Black people, including my parents. Ironically, the first home I ever lived in resulted from housing discrimination my parents faced in Boston.
My father secured a job based at MIT, working as an engineer on NASA’s space program, yet my parents couldn’t rent a home for our family in a middle-class neighborhood, because no one would rent to them. Fortunately, his employer intervened, and our family lived rent-free for a year, enabling my parents to save a down payment for their first home purchase. I’m fortunate to have been raised by Black parents who were homeowners, able to raise four children in a thriving community with excellent public schools. In turn, all four of us are homeowners — as Black Americans, that’s all too rare.
Brena Nath: If you were able to change three things in the housing space what would they be?
Pam Perry: Creating more affordable housing options in already thriving communities. Increasing Black and Latinx homeownership that is so critical to creating intergenerational wealth. Increasing women of color in more of the industry’s c-suites.
Brena Nath: What are three things that companies can or should start doing today to bring more diversity into the workforce?
Pam Perry: Oftentimes talented diverse candidates aren’t retained or miss out on promotion opportunities due to a lack of mentors/sponsors and a lack of high-visibility, diverse leaders. Companies must change that paradigm with intentionality. Diverse representation in leadership matters — on hiring panels, in compensation discussions and in business discussions. Diversity in leadership also matters to attracting and retaining a diverse pipeline. Companies also should utilize employee resource groups since they provide leadership opportunities for a broader range of employees, build networks within the organization, and they spotlight role models. After the events of 2020 catalyzed the racial justice movement, ARISE, our Black employee resource group, provided a much-needed community for Black employees and many of our non-Black allies to heal, support one another, and help the company advance equity internally.
Brena Nath: From your perspective, how can the housing industry step up to increase minority homeownership?
Pam Perry: First, we must recognize that the current state of minority homeownership is a direct reflection of a housing system designed long ago to marginalize Black communities. At Freddie Mac, we are bringing a high level of focus to addressing gaps in Black homeownership and wealth because this is the community with the greatest need, rooted in long-term historical discrimination. We need to break through historical barriers ingrained deeply in the housing process — from loan qualifications to appraisals.
Historic redlining has created minority communities with stagnant home values and decades of disinvestment on land often more vulnerable to flooding and climate risk. Despite challenges, there are numerous untapped opportunities for Black homeownership. Our research shows that there are 3.4 million Black Americans under the age of 45, who have the credit characteristics to qualify for a mortgage today but aren’t currently mortgage holders. These “mortgage-ready” borrowers represent a pressing opportunity for us all. We need to address down payment assistance, financial capability, appraisal gaps and housing supply.
Brena Nath: How do we pave a new path forward for future women leaders?
Pam Perry: Financial services companies are traditionally male-dominated, but research shows that having a diverse workforce across the mortgage industry benefits us all and is good for the bottom line. We have to change the paradigm and it really starts with corporate culture. I’m proud that Freddie Mac supports women with initiatives such as #LeadingTheWay that champion the advancement of women across the mortgage finance industry, by creating meaningful conversations and offering tools to support women’s career advancement. Sharing resources, creating opportunities for dialogue and offering a space for professionals and organizations to share knowledge is an actionable path forward.
Brena Nath: What’s one piece of advice you would give people in this industry?
Pam Perry: Housing remains the bedrock of American communities, and we all can take pride in our contributions toward creating thriving communities in which American families flourish.
To read the full August Issue, click here.
