Real Estate Balance Industry Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey 2024

Every two years, we carry out the most comprehensive study of EDI in UK real estate and its associated sectors.

Until Monday 30th September, everyone working in our industry in the UK - regardless of your role, your seniority, who you work for or anything else at all - can take ten minutes to make a difference by sharing your views.

The questions will generate insights to help us determine how far we have come in progressing EDI in our workplaces and also where we should focus and prioritise to accelerate change.

The survey is anonymous and we will not ask for any information that will identify you. However, the results of the survey, including comments with your permission, will be published in a final report.

Unless stated otherwise, please select one answer for each question. You can view our Privacy Policy here.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey; we really value your views.

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* 1. Do you permit us to include your anonymous comments in the report highlighting the findings of this survey?

Yes

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* 2. What type of organisation do you work for?

Property Company

Investment Manager

Professional Services provider

Financial Services / Banking

Property Agency / Consultant

Construction / Engineering

Architect

Law Firm

Recruitment

Other (please specify)

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* 3. What is the approximate size of the organisation you work for?

1-250 employees

251-1,000 employees

1,001-10,000 employees

10,000+ employees

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* 4. Where is your primary work location where you are based most frequently?

London

South East

East of England

South West

East Midlands

West Midlands

North West

North East

Yorkshire

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales

Channel Islands

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* 5. What is your level within your organisation?

Board

Senior and Leadership Level (typically reporting to a Board or Executive Committee member)

Middle Management Level (typically reporting to a Senior Leader)

Qualified or equivalent (achieved professional qualification where applicable, unlikely to have any direct reports)

Support Staff/ Other

Graduate/ Apprentice/ Entry Level

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* 6. How long have you worked for your current employer?

Less than 1 year

1–2 years

3–5 years

6–10 years

10+ years

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* 7. What is your gender?

Male

Female

Prefer not to answer

Prefer to self-describe (please specify)

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* 8. What is your ethnic group?

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Indian

Pakistani

Any other Asian background

African

Caribbean

Any other Black background

White and Asian

White and Black African

White and Black Caribbean

Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background

White British/ English/ Welsh/ Northern Irish/ Scottish

White Irish

Gypsy or Irish Traveller

Roma

Any other White background

Arab

Ethnic group not listed

Prefer not to say

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* 9. Which type of school did you attend between the ages of 11 and 16? If you changed schools, please base your answer on the last two years of your education.

State-run or state-funded school (selective on academic, faith or other grounds)

State-run or state-funded school (non-selective)

Independent/ fee-paying school

Independent/ fee-paying school, where I received a bursary covering 90% or more of my tuition

Attended school outside the UK

Don’t know/ not sure

Prefer not to say

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* 10. Did either of your parents attend university by the time you were 18?

Yes, one or both of my parents attended university

No, neither of my parents attended university

Don’t know/ not sure

Prefer not to say

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* 11. What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were about 14?

Modern professional and traditional professional occupations such as:

teacher, nurse, physiotherapist, social worker, musician, police officer (sergeant or above), software designer, accountant, solicitor, medical practitioner, scientist, civil/ mechanical engineer.

Senior, middle or junior managers or administrators such as:

finance manager, chief executive, large business owner, office manager, retail manager, bank manager, restaurant manager, warehouse manager.

Clerical and intermediate occupations such as:

secretary, personal assistant, call centre agent, clerical worker, nursery nurse.

Technical and craft occupations such as:

motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver.

Routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations such as:

postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, HGV driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter/ waitress, bar staff.

Small business owners who employed less than 25 people such as:

corner shop owners, small plumbing companies, retail shop owner, single restaurant or cafe owner, taxi owner, garage owner.

Long term unemployed (claimed Jobseeker's Allowance or
earlier unemployment benefit for more than a year).

Other, such as: retired, this question does not apply to me, I don’t know.

Prefer not to say

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* 12. Where do you see the greatest disparity of diversity in your organisation?

Board

Senior and Leadership Level

Middle Management Level

Qualified or Equivalent Level

Support Staff/ Other

Graduate/ Apprentice/ Entry Level

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* 13. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

"My company deals extremely well with equity, diversity and inclusion issues."

Please select one answer for each row.

	Strongly disagree	Somewhat disagree	Neither agree nor disagree	Somewhat agree	Strongly agree	Don’t know
Ethnicity	Ethnicity Strongly disagree	Ethnicity Somewhat disagree	Ethnicity Neither agree nor disagree	Ethnicity Somewhat agree	Ethnicity Strongly agree	Ethnicity Don’t know
Gender equality	Gender equality Strongly disagree	Gender equality Somewhat disagree	Gender equality Neither agree nor disagree	Gender equality Somewhat agree	Gender equality Strongly agree	Gender equality Don’t know
Gender identity	Gender identity Strongly disagree	Gender identity Somewhat disagree	Gender identity Neither agree nor disagree	Gender identity Somewhat agree	Gender identity Strongly agree	Gender identity Don’t know
Sexual orientation	Sexual orientation Strongly disagree	Sexual orientation Somewhat disagree	Sexual orientation Neither agree nor disagree	Sexual orientation Somewhat agree	Sexual orientation Strongly agree	Sexual orientation Don’t know
Disability (physical)	Disability (physical) Strongly disagree	Disability (physical) Somewhat disagree	Disability (physical) Neither agree nor disagree	Disability (physical) Somewhat agree	Disability (physical) Strongly agree	Disability (physical) Don’t know
Neurodiversity	Neurodiversity Strongly disagree	Neurodiversity Somewhat disagree	Neurodiversity Neither agree nor disagree	Neurodiversity Somewhat agree	Neurodiversity Strongly agree	Neurodiversity Don’t know
Mental health	Mental health Strongly disagree	Mental health Somewhat disagree	Mental health Neither agree nor disagree	Mental health Somewhat agree	Mental health Strongly agree	Mental health Don’t know
Religion and belief	Religion and belief Strongly disagree	Religion and belief Somewhat disagree	Religion and belief Neither agree nor disagree	Religion and belief Somewhat agree	Religion and belief Strongly agree	Religion and belief Don’t know
Social mobility	Social mobility Strongly disagree	Social mobility Somewhat disagree	Social mobility Neither agree nor disagree	Social mobility Somewhat agree	Social mobility Strongly agree	Social mobility Don’t know
Age	Age Strongly disagree	Age Somewhat disagree	Age Neither agree nor disagree	Age Somewhat agree	Age Strongly agree	Age Don’t know
Caring responsibilities	Caring responsibilities Strongly disagree	Caring responsibilities Somewhat disagree	Caring responsibilities Neither agree nor disagree	Caring responsibilities Somewhat agree	Caring responsibilities Strongly agree	Caring responsibilities Don’t know

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* 14. Real Estate Balance requires a CEO or other senior leader at member organisations to sign up to ten commitments to work towards improving equity, diversity and inclusion across the industry.

Are you aware of the Real Estate Balance CEO Commitments?

Yes

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* 15. Which, if any, of the following practices do you think are having an impact on improving equity, diversity and inclusion in your organisation and which do you think your organisation should focus more on in the future?

Please select all that apply.

	My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Active driving of cultural/ behavioural change	Active driving of cultural/ behavioural change My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Active driving of cultural/ behavioural change My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
EDI policies/ action plans and working groups	EDI policies/ action plans and working groups My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	EDI policies/ action plans and working groups My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Commitment to external EDI charters	Commitment to external EDI charters My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Commitment to external EDI charters My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Internal targets	Internal targets My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Internal targets My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Measuring diversity and progress at Board level	Measuring diversity and progress at Board level My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Measuring diversity and progress at Board level My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Incentivisation for inclusive behaviours which further EDI ambitions	Incentivisation for inclusive behaviours which further EDI ambitions My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Incentivisation for inclusive behaviours which further EDI ambitions My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Talent development plans (for women and other underrepresented minority groups)	Talent development plans (for women and other underrepresented minority groups) My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Talent development plans (for women and other underrepresented minority groups) My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Flexible working programmes	Flexible working programmes My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Flexible working programmes My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
EDI (this could include cultural competency and/or emotional intelligence) training for mangers of people	EDI (this could include cultural competency and/or emotional intelligence) training for mangers of people My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	EDI (this could include cultural competency and/or emotional intelligence) training for mangers of people My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Cross-company mentoring programmes	Cross-company mentoring programmes My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Cross-company mentoring programmes My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Reverse mentoring	Reverse mentoring My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Reverse mentoring My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
Enhanced parental policies and practices	Enhanced parental policies and practices My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	Enhanced parental policies and practices My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future
None of the above	None of the above My organisation has implemented this practice and it has helped to improve EDI	None of the above My organisation should focus more on this practice in the future

Other (please specify)

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* 16. Do you feel that you are able to openly discuss your career and life aspirations with your line manager?

Yes

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* 17. Please elaborate on either why you feel you can or cannot discuss these topics with your line manager

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* 18. How important is it to you that your employer is taking actions to progress equity, diversity and inclusion?

Very important

Somewhat important

Neither important or unimportant

Somewhat unimportant

Very unimportant

Very important

Somewhat important

Neither important or unimportant

Somewhat unimportant

Very unimportant

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* 19. The Real Estate Balance vision is to achieve greater equity, diversity and inclusion across all levels of the UK real estate industry and associated sectors, with a particular focus on gender, ethnicity, and social mobility.

What do you feel would be the most valuable activities that Real Estate Balance can carry out to help achieve this?

Please select up to three.

Workshops and roundtable discussions at Board and Senior Leadership levels

Inclusive leadership workshops at middle management level

Speed mentoring at young professional level

Workshops and networking at young professional level

Presentations from educational or leading organisations on EDI related topics

Online Toolkit to showcase good/best practice

Report of the results of this survey

Strengthening relationships between senior leaders and junior staff members through initiatives such as shadow boards and reverse mentoring

Further campaigning on EDI issues to influence cultural change within the Real Estate Balance membership and wider property sector

None of the above

Other (please specify)

Real Estate Balance Industry Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey 2024

Question Title

* 1. Do you permit us to include your anonymous comments in the report highlighting the findings of this survey?

Question Title

* 2. What type of organisation do you work for?

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* 3. What is the approximate size of the organisation you work for?

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* 4. Where is your primary work location where you are based most frequently?

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* 5. What is your level within your organisation?

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* 6. How long have you worked for your current employer?

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* 7. What is your gender?

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* 8. What is your ethnic group?

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* 9. Which type of school did you attend between the ages of 11 and 16? If you changed schools, please base your answer on the last two years of your education.

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* 10. Did either of your parents attend university by the time you were 18?

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* 11. What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were about 14?

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* 12. Where do you see the greatest disparity of diversity in your organisation?

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* 13. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? "My company deals extremely well with equity, diversity and inclusion issues." Please select one answer for each row.

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* 14. Real Estate Balance requires a CEO or other senior leader at member organisations to sign up to ten commitments to work towards improving equity, diversity and inclusion across the industry.Are you aware of the Real Estate Balance CEO Commitments?

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* 15. Which, if any, of the following practices do you think are having an impact on improving equity, diversity and inclusion in your organisation and which do you think your organisation should focus more on in the future?Please select all that apply.

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* 16. Do you feel that you are able to openly discuss your career and life aspirations with your line manager?

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* 17. Please elaborate on either why you feel you can or cannot discuss these topics with your line manager

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* 18. How important is it to you that your employer is taking actions to progress equity, diversity and inclusion?

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* 20. Are there any other comments you would like to make?

* 13. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

"My company deals extremely well with equity, diversity and inclusion issues."

Please select one answer for each row.

* 14. Real Estate Balance requires a CEO or other senior leader at member organisations to sign up to ten commitments to work towards improving equity, diversity and inclusion across the industry.

Are you aware of the Real Estate Balance CEO Commitments?

* 15. Which, if any, of the following practices do you think are having an impact on improving equity, diversity and inclusion in your organisation and which do you think your organisation should focus more on in the future?

Please select all that apply.