Generation Changemaker: How the Next Wave of Real Estate Workers is Working to Elevate Our Industry, you can tune in to the time-stamped video here.
Key Takeaways
Navigating the Boardroom
How to navigate being the only woman in the room – Watch Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk on “power poses” and practice before a meeting. Make sure you have a presence at the meeting - if you are petite, make your seat higher so you are physically at the same height as others above the table; take a seat at the centre of the table and project your voice.
How to manage interrupting – Find an authentic way to manage this – some options include keep speaking, or wait until the interrupter finishes talking and say “sorry I wasn’t finished yet” and continues to make your point.
How to own your contribution in a meeting – Walk into a meeting believing you have valuable contributions to make. Think about what the purpose of the meeting is and how you want to help achieve that purpose –for juniors, it could be being a go-to on the details, or being vocal when you agree with something. Managers should actively solicit opinions from all attendees.
How to drive performance by soliciting diverse perspectives within your organization – Can do this in several ways – by attracting and retaining diverse talent, by creating affinity groups to network, by mandating conscience inclusion training, and by embedding EDI into performance measurement criteria.
How to hire for diversity – Need to evaluate the hiring process and ensure it is set up to find the candidates you are looking for.
Building Your Network
How to open up networking opportunities at your company – Managers should ask the team what networking events they are comfortable with, and find networking opportunities that work for the team. Managers should also ensure to include the entire team when going to networking events and not just selective members. Don’t rule out someone for an event due to their background. Consider expanding beyond golf and sports games for networking events (i.e. concerts, obstacle courses, Rec Room, etc.). If you don’t like the direction that networking is going at your company, take initiative and plan an event.
How to expand your network, regardless of background – Your industry peers are people you will be working with in the future as you both progress through your careers. Try to push yourself out of your comfort zone – if you are intimidated by golf tournaments, take a couple of golf lessons so you can hit a ball. If you have a relationship with someone with a different background (i.e. gender, race, etc.), it’ll be much easier for you to draw them into your company and increase diversity that way. If you want to see change, take initiative and make it happen rather than saying “we need to do this” but expect others to do it. Make sure to communicate to your manager that you are out networking so they know what you are doing.
Accessing Equal Opportunities and Achieving Career Progression
How can gender bias impact career track – There are systemic gender differences in how work is allocated resulting in women often receiving lower value tasks (recruiting, planning socials, etc.) which take their time away from promotable tasks. Think about delegating or saying no to free up time. Managers need to think about who they are asking to do the lower value tasks, whether it is fair to do so, and whether the work is evenly distributed among all demographics.
How to avoid getting stuck – As women take on additional responsibilities they tend to become invaluable to their team (i.e. “I need to hire two people to replace her”) which suggests they have become workhorses that are too valuable in their current role to be promoted. Managers need to be intentional in how they distribute opportunities (i.e. speaking engagements, stretch assignments, etc.). Managers need to consider all options, solicit opinions to avoid blind spots, and be transparent and able to justify why someone didn’t receive an opportunity or promotion.
How to develop a sponsor relationship – An ideal sponsor is someone who has clout and whose opinions people respect and value. Make your sponsor look good (i.e. do a great job on their project) and they will use their social capital to prop you up. Ask your sponsor to keep you in mind for speaking engagements, stretch assignments, etc. and the more specific you are in your request the easier it will be for them to help you. Discuss your end goal with your sponsor and/or manager so they can give specific advice on how to get there.
How to advocate for yourself – Don’t worry about being too direct, there is a way to advocate for yourself without being too aggressive. A great time to put up your hand for additional responsibilities is during a time of change at the company (i.e. when someone goes on leave, or leaves the company). Consider reading “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office” which has some good advice. Get to know and understand the timing for promotions at your company and advocate for yourself before the decision process.
How to combat unconscious bias as an industry – Companies should engage in inclusion and bias training to help employees identify and address internal biases. Companies should also encourage open conversations about why some people are getting promoted over others, and consider whether improvements are necessary. Finally, companies should put equity, diversity and inclusion goals into culture and performance management so they are always front and centre.
How can organizations address gender pay equity – Companies should try to facilitate face time opportunities for the female employee and the client to instill confidence in her. If client still reaches out to male employee, companies will have to reconsider compensation structure and place more emphasis on team work and less on originations so women can receive more credit. Companies should also encourage men to share workload equally at home and to take parental leaves.
Managing Parental Leave
How can parental leave help level the playing field – Acknowledge that taking leave sets people back and promote paternity leave equally. Encouraging paternity leaves and view them as an investment in the employee by encouraging loyalty in feeling that their team supported them during their leave. Studies show that when parents share leave it results in more equitable distribution of household workload for life.
How to remove stigma around paternity leave – Should not characterize leave as “time off” or “vacation” but rather as something that is important for the family. Managers should encourage leave and speak positively about men taking paternity leave to show that the company does not see the leave as a negative. Once the father returns to the office, he should be given important responsibilities/staffed on high-profile deals to show that the leave did not impact his role and progression in the company.
How to set oneself up for a successful leave – Be organized, make sure to properly transition your work and be helpful to your colleagues covering for you including being available to provide background on tasks during your leave. Be careful not to take on deliverables as you don’t want to be the bottleneck.
How can men be allies around parental leave – Speak positively about the leave and help cover the father’s workload while he is away. Be an equal parent at home and advocate for the parent who is on leave by reminding the company about their prior accomplishments and propose their names for upcoming projects.
What insights can be offered around navigating ethnic diversity in commercial real estate – be authentic to who you are and don’t worry about fitting into the company. When looking for a job, make sure you are aligned with the company’s value. Advocate for yourself, and network to find friends and mentors.
Will the next generation inherently create change? – You need to be your own advocate and be the advocate for the change you want to see, and bring your peers on to push for those changes. Advocate for those who are not at the table.