Diversity, Inclusion & Inclusive Environments Flashcards
What are the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010?
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation.
What RICS initiative was launched in 2015 to promote and increase diversity in the industry?
RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark
What was the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark launched in response to?
Launched 2015, a response to the sector being behind other professions in moving towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce, which is only possible if there is a measurement of this specifically to determine how inclusive an organisation is.
183 companies signed up, representing 300,000+ workforce.
What are the four key principles of the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark?
- Leadership – demonstrable workforce diversity commitment at highest level.
- Recruitment – using best practice recruitment methods engage to attract new people from under-represented industry groups.
- Culture – develop an inclusive culture where all staff engage with developing, delivering, monitoring and assessing diversity and inclusivity
- Development – training and promotion policies that offer equal access to career progression to all workforce members.
Define equality
Equality: ensuring everybody has equal opportunity, not treated differently or discriminated against because of individual characteristics.
Define diversity
Diversity: taking into account differences between people and groups of people, and placing a positive value on those differences.
Why was the Equality Act introduced and what is its purpose?
- Introduced to bring together various separate pieces of legislation into one single act (Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act)
- Purpose: protect individuals from unfair treatment and promote a fair and more equal society.
What is direct discrimination/what could it involve?
- Someone treated less favourably directly because of protected characteristic they have/someone else they know has/thought to have
- Could involve a decision to not employ, dismissal, poorer promotion/training/contractual benefits, or denying contractual benefits because of a protected characteristic
What is indirect discrimination/what could it involve?
- Where you have procedures in place that make it indirectly more challenging for someone with a protected characteristic to perform, and you are unable to justify it.
- Could involve a recruitment selection criteria
What is affinity bias?
Feeling an affinity with someone as they have similar life experiences.
What is the halo effect?
Unfounded positive trait attribution (i.e. dressing ‘smart’ = good)
Can you name a recent article / CPD activity you undertook relating to Diversity & Inclusion?
Property Week, May 2022
Article discussing how to change the perception of real estate - focussing on what the sector does for community, the creation of important (life saving) buildings etc.
Expanding the public’s understanding of an often misunderstood and poorly received industry would attract new people from diverse backgrounds.
Feeds into one of the principles of the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark - ‘Recruitment - engage and attract new people to the industry from under represented communities’
What does inclusive environments mean?
Ensuring that environments do not present people with barriers as to their enjoyment of the space.
How do you consider inclusive environments within your work?
Through the design for management stages, I always ensure that the client has referred to Building Regulations, Approved Document M.
The consideration of inclusive environments is particularly important to later living developments. Can consider options such as swimming pool lifts / hoists.
What recent announcement have the RICS made in relation to diversity & inclusion?
The Governing Council of RICS has established a strategic oversight group to steer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives focused on building a culture of accountability and belonging, and ensuring the membership and profession better reflect the societies they serve.
