Whilst the Women in Property membership is female, its activities and initiatives are shared across boundaries, including gender, race, religion, occupation and education, recognising that the industry must be more inclusive towards both its workforce and its users.

 

The organisation believes it is crucial that girls – and boys – particularly from less traditional industry backgrounds, should be inspired by the opportunities offered by a career in the built environment.  Thanks to the commitment of its members and supporters, Women in Property undertakes a number of different initiatives across the country, from school outreach work to design competitions and, at University level, runs the National Student Awards programme for young women entering the industry.

 

Its highly acclaimed cross-discipline mentoring programme helps women gain confidence, growing personally and professionally and improving career development.  It is committed to achieving balance on industry panel debates and conference podiums and providing members with various training opportunities to ensure their voices are heard.

Employers have a major role to play, too, and Women in Property is happy to support them.  In recent years, experience has shown that some employers, although keen to attract and retain a diverse workforce, do not pay sufficient attention to their working culture.  For many years it has worked with businesses to help them understand and tackle unconscious bias – something that affects women and minority groups – and its negative impact on the work environment. 

 

Women in Property is also active in public affairs and policy.  In recent years it has contributed to the Lord Davies Report seeking to grow the number of women in UK boardrooms and regularly submits papers to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women and Work, covering topics including Returners, Disability, Recruitment processes, Excellence in the Built Environment and Inclusion.