Two years ago Banker & Tradesman ran an editorial entitled “Casual Sexism is Hurting Your Bottom Line,” about pitches made to a member of the editorial board regarding refinancing offers, most of which were addressed solely to her husband.

Last year, Banker & Tradesman reran the editorial in its entirety, noting that, sadly, it was still relevant.

And as we enter the spring market once again, it is time, once again, to rerun the message, because not much has changed in the real estate world.

A lot has changed outside the real estate world. 2017 was the year women rose up and fought back, naming names and filing charges against some of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry. The movement spread to other industries, including politics and publishing – and of course, in the case of Steve Wynn, commercial real estate development.

It’s only a matter of time before #metoo comes to real estate and banking as well. But for a couple of reasons, it’s unlikely to hit those industries as hard as it did others.

Residential real estate is a female-dominated industry; two-thirds of NAR member agents in 2017 were women. But as NAR notes, “as years of experience increase, so does the presence of men;” agents with 16 or more years of experience are 40 percent male.

In banking, at least community banking, while there’s likely to be a gender imbalance in the c-suite, the corporate culture lends itself to a much more congenial atmosphere than Hollywood. That’s not to say women haven’t been harassed and humiliated in both residential real estate and community banking – of course they have – but the percentage is likely to be lower.

The example in the original editorial that ran in 2016 was specifically for lenders pitching refis, but the message is the same for all product pitches, new listing requests and client proposals: if there are two adults in the household, you’d better be pitching to both of them, or neither is going to listen.

So, now that we’ve reminded you of the need to address sexism as pertains to your clients, it’s time to look inward to address gender diversity in corporate management, from managers all the way up to the president, and in the boardroom. While you’re looking at your client recruitment processes for signs of silent sexism, take a look at your internal practices too.

It has been reported for years that companies with diverse management and leadership are more successful than those run entirely by old white men. Diverse persons bring diverse ideas, and companies thrive when they do more than pace back and forth in the same rut.

Whatever the source, casual sexism is still hurting your bottom line, but it doesn’t have to. Take a hard look at your business, hiring and promotion practices, and make some real changes. Your bottom line will thank you.

And maybe we won’t have to run this editorial again next year.