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Diversity takes a real estate management firm to new heights

By Orana Durney-Benson
13 November 2023 | 6 minute read
suzanne hutchinson reb vuyvat

The company’s commitment to authentic, meaningful inclusion has earned its recognition from Diversity Council Australia (DCA).

Real Asset Management (RAM) has recently been named an Inclusive Employer for their corporate culture over the 20232024 period.

According to the Inclusive Employer Index, a DCA-developed survey that allows organisations to check in on employee inclusion and compare it against national benchmarks, 87.6 per cent of RAM team members felt that the company valued and respected diversity.

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With this result comfortably surpassing the national benchmark of 71 per cent, HR director Suzanne Hutchinson shared that she was pleased by the feedback.

She was particularly delighted to learn, through the index’s data-mapping tools, that RAM’s Australian staff come from 13 different cultural backgrounds and speak 12 different languages. In total, 52 per cent of the team are multilingual.

RAM CEO Scott Kelly was keen to emphasise that the company’s diversity culture is organic, uncontrived and ingrained into the firm’s structure, rather than being manufactured.

“These principles are deeply embedded in our core values and have been since the firm was founded over a decade ago,” Mr Kelly noted.

“They form an integral part of our corporate culture and are evident in our daily actions.”

Nevertheless, RAM has recently taken steps to formalise its inclusive culture. Earlier this year, the organisation set up a Diversity and Inclusion Council, according to Ms Hutchinson.

“The council plays a pivotal role in driving RAM’s overall D&I strategy, raising awareness, and providing important education on diversity and inclusion to our team,” she explained.

RAM also recently joined Pride in Diversity, a national support program for LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion, and became an employer member of the Parents At Work network.

Gender equality is a particular focus for the firm as it gets ready for the future.

With over 54 per cent of the team identifying as female, and 42.5 per cent of leadership roles occupied by women, Mr Kelly underlined that RAM’s gender representation “aligns favourably with industry averages”.

Nonetheless, he stated that RAM will “continue to invest in nurturing future female leaders” as it powers towards full gender equality.

With women in the property industry continuing to face significant barriers to leadership, business ownership and pay equality, initiatives like RAM’s will be important to creating a fully equal and inclusive real estate sector.

The industry’s recent silence on the Voice referendum, and real estate’s continued oversight of property professionals who have a disability, are neurodiverse, are older, are from a lower socioeconomic background or who are LGBTQIA+ indicates there is still a long way to go before the Australian real estate sector can start celebrating.

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