One of history’s most unlikely leaders, Harry S Truman, had a sign on his desk saying “the buck stops here”.
If you want to build anything in life, whether it is physical or metaphorical, you have to take responsibility.
Our industry can be proud of many things – we are leaders in sustainability, we have created the housing for 24 million people, over 1.1 million rely on us for jobs, and we generate tens of billions in tax revenues every year.
It’s also an industry that continually innovates, which really means never being satisfied with the progress we have made.
One challenge we all have to take responsibility for is the lack of gender diversity in our industry, particularly at senior levels. There is no doubt that our industry is still too blokey and excludes too many women. As members know, the Property Council has a range of initiatives aimed at addressing this situation.
Today we release the inaugural report of the Property Male Champions of Change, our signature diversity initiative. You can read more here.
This report sets out the six action plans the Property Male Champions of Change group are pursuing to drive lasting change in their businesses and throughout our industry. In addition, we have made a host of new diversity resources available on our website (just look under ‘our industry’) as a toolkit for those looking to make a difference in their own organisations.
Achieving change takes commitment, particularly from those with the ability to have the biggest influence.
The buck stops here – at my desk and yours.