Drivers of Change: Collective Accountability

I love many things and I don't love a few things. I have unconditional love for people and operate from a place of care with everything I do. I believe in collaboration and partnerships as the best vehicles to arrive at success and happiness. The journey is filled with ebbs and flows and I welcome and embrace the ebbs. Of course, I make mistakes on the journey, we all do. It is about the lessons that we learn that make us stronger only if we have the will to listen and own our accountability. It is about learning from the lessons and doing better.

In 2016 I was tired of the circular conversations that were happening around diversity and equity. The checkbox solutions about empty pledges with no action, the refusal to speak about the main elephant in the room-race and colour, incompetent people holding the flag for diversity, inclusion and equity and the superficial words of the gatekeepers of the status quo. So, I decided to create a plan to build a platform to proactively and methodically expose gaps, address issues and collaborate to develop actionable solutions to remove and eradicate barriers towards equity and diversity in the commercial real estate and development industry. My first project was to understand the demographics of the Canadian real estate and development (CRED) space in relation to attitudes, perspectives and the numbers around diversity and equity. It was Canada's first Demographic survey that showcased a visible picture of the landscape of our industry (if you like a copy please DM me and do I have a story for you, I think its a good one).

2017, was a year that I thought I was playing a part in the Pirates of the Caribbean when I co-founded an initiative in 2015- you know when your ship gets hijacked by pirates, except its not a movie where ya get paid and wear fancy clothes, its reality-gas lighting and erasing the ownership of People of Colour (importance of keeping, this is not about self-promotion, so please don't get it twisted). The frustration I had and the microaggressive behaviours and fragility displayed by the leaders was beyond- one stating (let's call her Sally, cause it's not about Karen), "its white women first, then diversity women." (a blog for another day). Funny thing, is I do like this leader, she just has a lot of unpacking to do. Yup, and I am still trying to understand what the definition of "diversity women" is, hey if ya can help a friend out, please DM me too, I am curious to learn too. I gracefully bowed out, you know like the bow from Meghan Markel, yup I did that too with a similar smile, but without the fabulous dress!

Okay, so in 2018 with the help of a great Champion for people and action- Joannes Yimbesalu (look him up and you will know why with his accolades of accomplishments) helped me spearhead my idea into reality: formal discussions around diversity and equity to create a toolbox that works. We gathered over 40 professionals from the CRED space to take the circular conversations that were happening around equity and diversity and chucked them, not in the recycling bins, you guessed it the garbage (sorry Vanessa Nakate follow her and get to know the real work, she is leading).

The monthly meetings were LIT. The discussions were real, where we unpacked and uncovered a lot. There were active knowledge sharing, ideation and more importantly people from diverse backgrounds (all facets) collaborating, challenging and connecting for a common purpose: to shift the conversations from talk to action. 

Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 pandemic our red carpet ( yup, you know we only do it in style) formal debut is delayed. However, we are in the midst of creating action tools and playbooks to help CRED leaders implement strategies with actions that work.

I want to thank ALL the participants for showing up, participating and more importantly creating a formal platform for our industry: CREED Council. A HUGE shout out to the following professionals: Aleks Karamarkovic, Alison Morsley, Alonzo Jones, Anita Lall Anson Kwok, Bader Elkhatib, Carrie Gurza, Catherine Truong, Christina Iacoucci, Clayton Barranger, Dave Bergeron, David Marr, David Becket, Don Manlapaz, Duncan Smith Faraz Hirji, Habon Ali, Jamie Bunston, John Crombie, Karsten Lee, Lauren Lucini, Leona Savoie, Lindsay Stiles, Nicole Lindsay, Marcel Parsons, Michael Ward, Michele Ade, Monique Ashpole, Nada Sutic, Rebecca Askew, Scott Watson, Sep Morshedizadeh, Seyi Laja, Shawna Rogowski, Simone Loumankis, Sunita Mahant, Veronica Maggisano, Vincent Tong, Ryan Ram, David Bendea, Micheline Bentley, Delofante Atkins, Robyn Gooding and myself too. Along with the support from three industry partners, whom I remain grateful for their support and commitment: Crown Realty Partners, Colliers International and BentallGreenOak.We are in our infancy stage, but don't get it twisted we are committed and dedicated to our mission to drive the change.

In the interim, with the recent visible anti-Black racism and racism that is resurfacing from the underbelly of the system, we too are outraged and we ask you to STEP UP and ACTION UP. Please find our statement for immediate action:

So, we call on you to become Drivers of Change, where accountability is the core of everything you do. It is time to use your voices, influence, platforms and megaphones and eradicate the main Elephant in the Room and help us evolve the system.

To learn more and to get involved: www.equitymatters.ca

Peace and in gratitude, Chandran