One of the biggest challenges to delivering an authentically diverse and inclusive real estate sector is the lack of individuals from low-economic backgrounds in it. Most in the sector will admit that when it comes to social mobility, real estate is pretty static.
Clyde & Co’s Alix Murtha is on a mission to change that. She used her talk to tell us why opening up the sector to more people from poorer backgrounds is essential and why we all have to work a bit harder to find ways to access this often hard-to-reach potential talent pool.
Murtha used the example of Jaywick, a village in Essex that if you do a quick Google image search and don’t linger too long on the images, appears as a 1930s-built sandy coastal village.
Linger longer and you’ll see that Jaywick is actually England’s most deprived place, with employment rates of just 36.3%, against a UK average of 63.2% and an average household income of £17,905 per annum, compared with the UK average of £45,367.
The village has very little in it. No train station, irregular and unreliable public transport, no industry to work in or build a career in.
“It’s people that make the places and to get their voice into your business, see if you can embed a part of their community into our community. And if you can, please go further”
“This is the sort of place I think of when I think of why we need investment in social and economic mobility that better understands the challenges specifically facing young people in the area, particularly with regards to getting into employment,” Murtha told the audience.
And herein lies the ask. Real estate investors, developers, consultants and educators need to reach further in their understanding of social mobility.
Reaching out to poorer schools in big cities is one thing, but what about those places across that UK that are isolated, the places where levelling up or gentrification would be an untouchable fantasy.
Murtha wants us to be real role models for young people in these places. To invite them along to our offices, our developments, and show them that real estate can be a place for them.
“What does matter and what is really going to make lasting change is having the choice in the first place,” said Murtha.
“It is having that opportunity that anyone can go into a career that they’re suited for, that they’re enthusiastic about, without being held back by circumstances of birth or lack of information.”
Watch Alix Murtha’s full speech on making socio-economic mobility initiatives more mobile:
A key element of what makes EG Future Leaders so special is the ripple effect it has. Our Future Leaders inspire action in our audience.
This year was all about the power of turning small ideas into mighty actions and unleashing the creativity we know exists in real estate.
Head to my.walls.io/EGFutureLeaders to see some of the takeaways our audience members shared.
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