Where are all the female auctioneers?

In my book I have a Chapter that describes how auctions usually run. In writing that Chapter I wanted to set out a bit of information about auctioneers. In doing that it occurred to me that in all of the auctions I have been to, and over the years I have been to hundreds of auctions, I have never seen a female auctioneer. Not a single one.

Apart from going to auctions, I also often watch the news on television. If there is a story about real estate or auctions, and there often is, it is not unusual to see a small snippet of an auction. Sometimes that footage is stock footage, but often it is footage taken on the day of the news report, or on the previous Saturday. And guess what? In all of the auction clips I have seen on television, all of the auctioneers have been male.

What is going on?

I note that in Victoria there are lots of female estate agents and agent’s representatives. I also note that in Victoria, any estate agent or agent’s representative is legally entitled to conduct an auction. I also note that although I have not been to many art auctions, I have seen females conduct those auctions. I also note that, speaking generally, females tend to have superior oral skills to males, and auctioneering is very much an oral activity.

I am sure that there must be some females who conduct real estate auctions, but if so, it would seem that they are very much in a minority.

Why is it so? Why is auctioneering still such a male-dominated profession? Surely there has been more than enough time for any historical overhang to have dissipated?

Can someone please enlighten me?