Property Week has long been a supporter of diversity in the property industry and this year we have launched our ‘Inspiring Diversity in Property’ campaign. And it is our aim to get the whole sector involved.

The broad programme of activity aims to drive real change in the sector by recognising and embracing those organisations that are committed to improving diversity and working to encourage other companies and individuals to set specific, measurable goals and work towards them.

The campaign will also highlight issues, offer benchmarking and provide tools, practical advice and strategies to help organisations achieve a more diverse workforce in the coming years.

We launched this diversity campaign at the Barbican in June and our speakers Lorraine Martins, global equity, diversity and inclusion belonging consultant at Nichols Group, and Paul Singh, founder of Eden and election council for the City of London Corporation, illustrated how essential it was to examine our surroundings and look at the diversity of the people we work with or see in leadership positions. If the majority looks the same, then it’s time to acknowledge the lack of representation and act.

The first part of the Inspiring Diversity in Property campaign was a Property Week-funded research white paper that found a number of major barriers to diversity in the sector including a lack of candidates, a lack of diverse role models and the perception of the sector as having all-white-male boards in the sector. However, respondents gave their employers a credible eight to 10 out of 10 for the efforts they had put in over the past 12 months to make improvements.

Sadly, nearly a quarter of respondents had either witnessed or been subject to discrimination in the previous 12-month period, but on a more positive note 81% said they felt personally empowered to affect diversity in their firm and, therefore, the sector as a whole.

Achieving equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) requires long-term commitment, deliberate actions and ambitious goals. We must be bold, challenge assumptions and keep the conversation open, and so Property Week is asking for your help to get involved and act for the sector.

And there are two ways to do this. We are calling for companies to put markers in the ground and be ambitious, and sign up to our company pledge to do more. Even if you may not quite achieve your goals, sign up to our pledge and we promise to be your biggest supporters.

Every company signing this pledge commits to establishing its own continuous improvement plan with measurable objectives and clearly defined outcomes. For some, this plan will involve only small changes; for others, improvement may be a long-term business transformation project.

In addition, we are asking individuals to make a commitment to Inspiring Diversity in Property. This is about the role you as an individual have to play in making a change by personally pledging to do something positive in your own way to support increased diversity. See examples of those in the sector who have already made their pledges. 

In return for your value support and action, Property Week will highlight good practice in the sector, strive to achieve a 50:50 split of male and female voices in its coverage and be a safe place for sharing experiences and ideas to make improvements. We will highlight networks and help people to find people who look like them in the sector. As part of this, we have launched our inaugural Inspiring Women in Property awards event to celebrate women, teams and initiatives dedicated to improving EDI for women.

So now is the time to get involved. Find all the information on the campaign, changes you can make and networks making the change at www.propertyweek.com/edihub or contact us on inspiringdiversity@propertyweek.com to get involved in our pledges and be part of the change.

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