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Turley supports real estate and socio-economic diversity report

The latest report from the Bridge Group shows limited progress on social mobility in one of the UK’s most important industries.

The real estate sector contributes more than £94 billion annually to UK GDP and employs over one million people. Leaders in the industry shape where we live, work and play. But who gets in, and who gets ahead and how – and what are the effects of socio-economic background?

Twelve leading real estate firms, including Turley, have collaborated with the Bridge Group to understand how socio-economic background affects access to, and success in, the industry. The research was funded by the JLL UK Foundation, a registered charity focused on supporting young people from low socio-economic backgrounds into the property industry.

The report reveals that the sector is deeply lacking in diversity - and acutely by socio-economic background. Analysis of over one million data points shows that:

• Among the participating organisations that submitted data, 45% of employees overall attended an independent or selective state school (28% and 17% respectively).
• On average the real estate firms in this research have a smaller proportion of employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds (27%) compared with, for example, leading accountancy firms, finance firms and the population of UK CEOs. 
• Among senior executives, 34% attended an independent school, and half attended an independent or selective state school – and among this group 52% are from a higher socio-economic background when analysing parental occupation. This is less representative compared with occupations such as MPs, FTSE 350 Chairs and BBC executives.
• There is significant variation between and within firms. For example, the proportion of employees from higher socio-economic backgrounds at each firm ranges from 71% to 39%. Exploring socio-economic background by level of seniority suggests that significant increases in diversity will not happen naturally over time. For example, compared with the figure of 50% for senior employees, 43% of junior employees attended an independent or state selective school (21% and 22% respectively) and 38% of mid-level employees (22% and 16% respectively). 
• Just as socio-economic background affects access to the sector and progression within it, so too do gender and ethnicity. White men dominate senior positions in the sector (64% of senior positions are occupied by this group). There are also clear intersections between these three diversity areas. For example, men are 21% more likely to be from higher socio-economic backgrounds than women; and White employees are 40% more likely to be from higher socio-economic backgrounds than those who identify as Black.

Interviews with over 150 senior leaders, mid-level employees and young people highlight a range of factors that are contributing to this acute lack of diversity, including the persistent importance of family connections, a strong lack of diversity at university courses that provide access to the professions, work cultures dominated by White men that can exclude other groups, and tolerated micro-aggressions in the workplace. 

The report challenges the sector to introduce a range of recommendations. These include the need to launch a comprehensive programme of careers guidance for young people, reform recruitment processes (both for universities and employers), develop clearer and more objectively assessed definitions of talent, and the collation (and benchmarking) of socio-economic diversity data by all real estate firms to inform and assess progress.

Nik Miller, Chief Executive of the Bridge Group, commented:

“This research is a critical step in using evidence to identify and address challenges in the UK real estate sector. We commend the participating firms for their commitment to the collection of data and to listening to colleagues’ lived experiences. The real value of this work, however, will be in the way the whole sector responds to these findings and recommendations – which should be very hard to ignore”.

Mark Stupples, Chair of the JLL UK Foundation added:

“Covid-19 threatens to further exacerbate existing social inequalities and there are already reduced job opportunities for young people, so social mobility is more important than ever. This research highlights that there is much work to be done but provides invaluable evidence and impetus for change on such a critical issue. We look forward to working alongside others in the real estate industry to advance these recommendations."

24 September 2020