Thinking differently about diversity

Diversity is not just about getting more women into property, it is about so much more.

“I think difference is a lot about background,” said Mishcon de Reya partner Susan Freeman. “If you’re going to look at the way in which the real estate sector has been, people have come through the same school system, the same colleges.” She said the prevalence of people from similar backgrounds working in the industry had led to “comfortable clone syndrome”.

“It sums up that people often feel more comfortable with people that they recognise as coming from the same school or the same background,” said Freeman. “They know what they’re going to say before they open their mouths. That is not a good thing. You need a bit of conflict sometimes, you need people who come from different backgrounds.”

That is where bodies such as Freehold, the networking forum for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender professionals working in property, which was established five years ago and now has 700 members, play an important role.

If you’re going to look at the way in which the real estate sector has been, people have come through the same school system, the same colleges”

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company and Freehold member, recounted a tale showing the impact of the group.

He said: “A young surveyor aged 25 who came to an event at Christmas said he didn’t feel comfortable when he joined his firm a year ago to come out to his boss. But after he’d been to a few Freehold events, he’d talked about it, he felt there was a good support network there, he felt he could tell his colleagues that he was gay and I think that’s great.”

Diversity of age around the board table is also important, said British Land’s head of operations for Canada Water, Emma Cariaga. She said that age diversity “gets forgotten a lot”.

“We talk about gender, race and sexuality a lot. No-one really talks about how this industry is full of middle-aged people. And actually we do need young people at the table,” said Cariaga.

So how are property companies trying to improve diversity? Freeman said that Mishcon de Reya had a long tradition of bringing in people to leadership backgrounds who were not lawyers, while the New West End company board, presently solely property owners and occupiers, was looking to include people from alternative backgrounds on the board.

We hired somebody who doesn’t know anything about residential and she’s brought a completely different, diverse way of thinking”

“We want to draw some people outside of the industry, just to do some challenging and thinking about the West End over the next 10 or 20 years,” said Tyrell.

Killian Hurley, chief executive of Mount Anvil, said the residential-led developer had started to look outside the industry to make senior hires. When there was a vacancy for head of marketing, he looked to the betting industry which he thought did marketing well. “We hired somebody who doesn’t know anything about residential and she’s brought a completely different, diverse way of thinking,” he said.

Mount Anvil also actively tried to encourage what Hurley described as “disagreement and radical candour” in its workforce. “My son, who’s the managing director in the business, has a new line now that when somebody comes to him to complain about somebody else, his line back to them is, ‘And what did they say when you told them about that behaviour?’”

Changing the industry and ways of thinking is not going to happen overnight. “You need to start pretty early,” said Cariaga. “We’re involved in Pathways to Property which is part-funded with Reading University to try to get kids into property for whom it’s not even on their radar. Not that there’s anything wrong with the industry, but they see being doctors, being lawyers, being accountants as something that’s a worthy profession…You can all talk about it, but I think you really need to change it by bringing people into the system and getting young people from all sorts of backgrounds.”

You really need to change it by bringing people into the system and getting young people from all sorts of backgrounds”

Reaching out to business schools to attract MBA graduates could bring a different perspective to property. “You go into the business schools and they think of the real estate sector as a bit of a dinosaur,” added Freeman. “I think we’re really missing out on getting some really ripe creative young MBAs who you would want to come into the property sector, but they actually don’t appreciate the sort of things that go on in the industry.”

There is a growing recognition that diversity is linked to productivity and improved business outcomes. “One in four work absences are down to mental health,” said Cariaga. “If you can track that back to people not feeling comfortable bringing their whole selves to work I think there is a productivity missing link. It’s a competitive marketplace. If we’re all trying to do the same thing and market the same product then you know what you’re going to get.”

Panel

■ Emma Cariaga, head of operations for Canada Water, British Land

■ Susan Freeman, partner, Mishcon de Reya

■ Killian Hurley, chief executive, Mount Anvil

■ Jace Tyrrell, chief executive, New West End Company

Diversity across the regions

Collaboration is key for the regions. Not just in their battle to attract investment, talent and occupiers, but also in battle to create diverse workplaces and communities. Speaking on a panel of public and private leaders from across the UK, chief executive of West Midlands Combined Authority Deborah Cadman said: “It is really important that as a combined authority we collaborate to ensure that leadership positions are filled by those that represent the population.”

She added: “And when we take the regions to the world, we need to make sure that whatever team we send is a team that is diverse and demonstrates that we believe in this. “