RICS welcomes Louise Brooke-Smith, RICS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair

I am delighted to take the opportunity to introduce myself as the Chair of the RICS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workstream, sitting on the newly formed RICS Board. My involvement with RICS has been extensive; beginning as an active member of Matrics, to becoming the first female global president, all while working across the public, private and charity sectors.

Throughout my career, my passion for diversity and inclusivity has remained at the heart of what I do, and as incoming Chair, my goal is to support RICS to continue embrace DEI in a progressive, positive, and transparent way. We must build upon our achievements in this area in in recent years; collaborate with others who are leading in the field, and support those who need specific assistance.

Upon the appointment of Sybil Taunton, RICS Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, RICS has already established links with other built environment bodies including the ICE, RTPI, LI, RIBA, CIOB and ULI to collectively lead from the top in DEI. During my tenure I look forward to building upon this work and reaching out even further, including outside of the UK, to offer RICS’ support, and learn from those whose experiences differ from my own. To be effective, we need to be working side by side.

We have already started work to enhance Rule 4 of the RICS Rules of Conduct around diversity, inclusion, and respect. Members and DEI leaders from our member firms have contributed to this piece of work, and we expect to launch the improved guidance, case studies and resources in October.

We have also put a lot of work into improving our data collection and sharing to establish more clear baselines with which we can measure progress year on year, and we need the support of our members and firms to achieve success in this area.

Over, the coming weeks I, together with the RICS executive team, engage with representatives from key DEI areas of activity, to set out a series of measurable benchmarks relating to areas including education and careers, racial and gender pay gaps, and staff retention. I am building on an already full calendar of DEI-focused events, for example, earlier in May 2023, RICS supported the newly established Association of Muslim Surveyors with their debut event at Great George Street. On 7 June, people will come together to mark LGBTQ+ inclusion at our second annual Pride event, and later in the year RICS will host another event in partnership with the professional bodies listed above focused on advancing racial equity in the built environment. We will close out the year with International Day of People with Disabilities in December.

My aim during my time as Chair will be to expand on some of these most successful initiatives and, with support from RICS staff, members, and my Board colleagues, identify and fill the gaps that exist in our DEI strategy. It is my hope that this generation, and the next generation of chartered surveyors, will see it as a progressive, inclusive career that welcomes and supports people from every walk of life.

Louise Brooke-Smith OBE, FRICS, MRTPI