EDITOR’S COMMENT I’m going to talk about race. If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure whether I should write what I am going to write here. I wondered first whether I had the right to do so and then I wondered about its relevance to the readership of EG.
It didn’t take me too long to grapple with the relevance question. Of course it is relevant. It is about respect and kindness, it is about creating environments where people feel safe, environments where people can live, work and play. And isn’t that what real estate is – or at least should be – about?
Whether I have the right is something I’m still struggling with. I am white and privileged. I have never encountered racism. I’ve never really been in a situation where I have seen blatant racism. I could very easily be blissfully ignorant.
But I hope, at least, that I am a pretty decent human being. I certainly know that I am someone who believes wholeheartedly in inclusivity, in respect, in understanding. And that means that I and EG, like huge swathes of the rest of the world, cannot stand silently by when another black man is murdered by police in the US. Black lives matter. And we must all strive, every single day, to make sure that that message is heard, is understood, and is practised.
How can we collectively go through the coronavirus pandemic and still not understand how precious every single life is? We human beings must do better.
A moment to stop and think
On the face of it, the brutal murder of George Floyd in the US has nothing to do with UK real estate. But I would argue that it absolutely should have everything to do with UK real estate.
This should create a moment for all of us to stop and think. To look around this sector and ask how we treat those around us who may be different to us in some way, be that the colour of their skin, their gender, who they love, how they identify, etc.
Real estate is getting better when it comes to its diversity and inclusion agenda on so many measures, but it is still overwhelmingly white. When I look through the pages of EG, through every story – and there are hundreds of them every week – that we write, I struggle to find a quote from someone who isn’t white. And that’s from a team that is so committed to helping the real estate industry on its journey to total inclusivity.
That is just not good enough. Now is a time for us to all look within our businesses and ask, why do our teams all look alike? Why aren’t we attracting people of colour to this industry? Is this industry suffering from institutional racism? I fear it probably is. Remember institutional racism does not just encompass prejudice and racist stereotyping; ignorance and thoughtlessness are characteristics, too.
But I also hope that this moment in time, as heartbreaking and horrific as it is, creates the same positive action for people of colour that the Me Too movement did for women. That chief executives and business leaders across the sector commit to actual change in the industry, that they ensure that any form of racism within their businesses is stamped out, that collectively we create an industry that is welcoming to all people, that we listen to all voices, that we lift up those who might have been ignored or overlooked. And that we start to ask ourselves some really tough questions.
This is something I am absolutely committing to at EG. Our first step will be to ask you to help us do better. We will be working hard to better educate ourselves, and will create a platform through EG to provide the resources and insight to enable the sector to have a more diverse, inclusive and balanced cross-section of leadership. If you would like to get in touch to share your experiences, we would love to hear from you. My door is always open. Please drop me a note at samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
