Ever pull on a loose thread and watch your whole sweater unravel? Journalism is sometimes like that.
Commercial real estate reporter Steve Adams early last year decided to explore the lack of diversity in CRE. That initial idea became two articles, one focusing on the lack of representation for minorities and one on the challenges faced by women. But those two articles couldn’t begin to encompass all the stories there were to tell, and so the Diversity in CRE section was born.
When we published Steve’s articles last February, we had no idea what the coming 12 months would mean for women in America. The Women’s March had just taken place and no one knew if the protests by millions of women all over the world would gather momentum or fizzle out. But then #metoo happened; Weinstein went down along with dozens of others, including Steve Wynn; Stormy Davis broke her NDA; and the fallout continues.
Diversity in CRE was a planned part of the 2018 editorial calendar before all of that happened, but it seems even more important now that it has.
This month’s issue of CRE Insider covers the ways industry heavyweights are trying to address inequities in its fields and its firms. From mentorships to training programs to meeting quotas, the industry knows it has a problem and is actively pursuing solutions.
More than coverage of these programs, however, is the space for women to tell their own stories. The columns in this issue from diverse CRE professionals address personal journeys and challenges overcome; the glacial pace of change and how to speed it up; and an endorsement of the benefits of a diverse workforce.
The stories of careerwomen in male-dominated industries start to sound the same after a while. That sameness is often numbing and the details of individual struggles are lost. In truth that sameness should be horrifying – how many women and minorities, over and over again, saw the same bullshit and suffered the same indignities, and no one did anything about it for decades? Not just in Greater Boston’s CRE industry, but in professions and locations all over the country?
So read their stories and hear their words, and remember that while every step is different, a lot of journeys are the same. It’s time to change the paths, to remove obstacles and barriers so no more smart, talented, diverse individuals are forced to trod the same ruts as those who came before them. It might even be time for established professions to take a few steps down that path; that’s bound to accelerate the pace of change.
To do that will require uncomfortable conversations and soul-searching. It won’t be easy and it won’t be fun, but in the end more than minorities will benefit – the whole industry will likely change, and for the better.
Commercial real estate is a powerful force; it has the ability to literally reshape a city skyline. Imagine what it could be if all people were truly welcome within it.
