COMMENT It has made us think, lockdown, hasn’t it? Almost everything we knew appears to be turning on its head, pretty much everywhere. In our beloved real estate market, just as we were wrestling through the retail woes of the high street, the entire industry has been thrown into turmoil, and we must all now go in search of an almost mythical new normal.
There is no doubt that we are facing the most complex set of problems seen for several generations, and we’ll need some fresh thinking and new ideas to solve them. But where will they come from?
A personal view
Just under a year ago, I was asked to take on a new role at Addleshaw Goddard, as co-head of our gender diversity group. Initially, I did the typically male thing of saying yes to a new role that I wasn’t really sure I had any of the necessary skills to carry out.
COMMENT It has made us think, lockdown, hasn’t it? Almost everything we knew appears to be turning on its head, pretty much everywhere. In our beloved real estate market, just as we were wrestling through the retail woes of the high street, the entire industry has been thrown into turmoil, and we must all now go in search of an almost mythical new normal.
There is no doubt that we are facing the most complex set of problems seen for several generations, and we’ll need some fresh thinking and new ideas to solve them. But where will they come from?
A personal view
Just under a year ago, I was asked to take on a new role at Addleshaw Goddard, as co-head of our gender diversity group. Initially, I did the typically male thing of saying yes to a new role that I wasn’t really sure I had any of the necessary skills to carry out.
I said yes because I have a deep-seated belief that, as employers, we have a duty to provide everyone (and I mean everyone) with a fair chance at the best career out there for them. That’s just a moral obligation that comes as part and parcel of being a good employer in a people industry.
Having worked in real estate for more than 25 years, I recognise that the playing field is far from level for women. To generalise, the property industry has long since recruited very healthy numbers of women at the junior end; however, by the time we get to the senior echelons (never mind the boards) the numbers seriously dwindle.
Allied to that, family life is changing fast and men are more involved as parents than ever before, so the familiar dismissive viewpoint that women leave their careers for their families just doesn’t wash anymore. Ultimately, we miss out on real talent, real diversity of thought and real progress.
Not just a man, I’m privately educated, in my fifties, white and (so they tell me) middle class. For years I’ve cared for the cause of gender equality but said little – and done even less – to make a real difference. And today, saying nothing is much less acceptable than before. If you are silent you risk being held complicit, but then again saying anything is much more perilous than before, as social media brings instant no-holds-barred scrutiny to any public utterance (wish me luck with this one).
So in many ways I’m not the obvious choice for a role to promote gender diversity, but perhaps a man being co-head with a woman is the right way forward. A man speaking to the men (and women) in different ways just might be part of the answer.
Lessons learned
I’ve started to do some research into the subject, not because I’m ever going to be an expert, but because getting under the ideas and data is a sensible starting point.
The arguments for gender diversity are well made and have been for some time. McKinsey & Co’s recent report Diversity wins: How inclusion matters mathematically evidences the correlation between diversity and financial performance. If you want to understand the connection between the two, then I’d recommend Matthew Syed’s book Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking. It soon becomes abundantly clear that increased diversity is essential to finding those new ideas that we so desperately need right now. Also it will make us better in every sense, because that’s what creating a more level playing field achieves.
I’ve learnt that speaking up isn’t as painful as you think. Yes, I’ve sweated blood trying not to make any faux pas, and gradually I’m finding a voice – my voice. It’s not an educated one, nor the voice of someone who can truly understand the experience of being a woman, but my sense is that those around me have seen that I care about trying to make things better. And when people can see that you care, they forgive you small things.
Stepping forward as an ally
National Inclusion Week is coming (28 September to 4 October) and here at Addleshaw Goddard we have decided to focus on allyship. The Anti-Oppression Network defines “allyship” as “a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency and accountability with marginalised individuals and/or groups of people”.
I like to think that I’ve been doing that all my life, although the truth is that for a long time I was close to mute and completely inactive. By stepping forward, learning a little, trying a few things and helping to signpost how important this issue is to our business, I feel like I’m taking meaningful steps forward – for me as well as for the business. As always, though, my efforts as an ally will be judged not by me but by those I’m trying to help.
Real estate is a fabulous industry and will be at the heart of this country’s regeneration. To do our bit as well as we can means harnessing every ounce of talent, and that means creating businesses in which diversity thrives, just like it does out there in the wider world. With the challenges that Covid-19 has presented, we have the opportunity to do just that. All it takes to start is for people to join the conversation.
William Boss is co-head of the real estate sector and co-head of the gender diversity group at Addleshaw Goddard
Image © Anna Shvets/Pexels
