COMMENT Why should the property sector care about diversity and inclusion? In addition to fairness and legality, I believe that by connecting with more diverse groups of people we deliver better outcomes. In other words, there is a strong business case.
As someone with a 20-year career in financial services, I experienced the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis for global markets. The lack of diverse viewpoints in boardrooms and on trading floors created a culture of “groupthink”, which led to poor investment banking decisions and a failure to evaluate risk properly.
Diversity of thought
Last week, property entrepreneur and diversity champion Bola Abisogun spoke at the Homes England staff conference and asked every decision-making group to “run the diversity of thought” to ensure that multiple perspectives are considered. For me, “diversity of thought” is the crux of the business case for inclusion in the property sector.
As the newly appointed diversity champion on the board of Homes England, I am determined that we use our influence to ensure the sector embraces a diversity of thought. Continually drawing from the same backgrounds and institutions creates organisations that do not include diverse viewpoints. Such organisations will lack creativity and make less informed and effective decisions.
We need to attract people into our industry of all backgrounds. Our industry has an ageing and shrinking workforce. By 2027, 20% of our industry will have retired, according to research by the Construction Industry Training Board. We cannot afford to miss out on new talent from every part of society.
But gender imbalance is only one factor. I come to the diversity debate as a member of under-represented groups in the banking sector, which has traditionally been dominated by white men. Fortunately for me, I have had great mentors to provide encouragement and build resilience.
However, we cannot rely on people from under-represented groups demanding career opportunities. Leaders need to ensure that those who shout loudest do not disproportionately succeed at the expense of those from different backgrounds. It’s also essential that people in under-represented groups see people who look and sound like them making decisions.
Inclusive communities
Better decision-making is not the only upside of diversity. It’s also about ensuring that the communities we create are diverse and inclusive. Homes England’s first Annual Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Report committed us to consider the different needs of the diverse communities we serve. We need to ensure our organisation and the wider industry reflect these communities, so we understand their housing needs and build the right kind of homes.
Homes England has enormous influence within the market and the financial power to factor diversity metrics into supply chain decisions. One of Homes England’s five stated diversity objectives is to work with our suppliers and partners to help create a more inclusive industry.
As well as working hard to improve the diversity of our workforce, we are determined to create a more inclusive sector. One practical step we will soon be taking is to use procurement targets to increase diversity when we replace our Delivery Partner Panel of developers and contractors. Alongside other non-financial requirements, such as design quality, we are developing criteria to support greater diversity and inclusion as a condition for joining the panel.
Inclusion means enabling people to overcome barriers they currently face in housing, whether it’s due to age, disability, ethnicity, social background, faith, gender or sexual orientation. We are then serving our real purpose – to be a leader, a change agent, a bastion of forward-thinking in the arena of affordable housing.
The theme of this year’s national inclusion week is “each one, reach one”. It is a great reminder that everyone can play a part in encouraging people from different backgrounds to join the sector, and provide positive learning opportunities when they do.
At Homes England, we are committed to creating an inclusive culture that embraces diversity and allows people to learn from each and deliver better housing outcomes. Now we are looking for support from the property sector to secure the benefits of diversity of thought.
Olivia Scanlon is chief operating officer of Orchard Global Asset Management and a Homes England diversity champion
