DEI&B Statement

The Howard de Walden Estate is fully committed to encouraging equity, diversity and inclusion and instilling a strong sense of belonging among its people. Our success is driven by attracting, developing and retaining talented people who share and deliver our values.

Communities prosper from the broadness of their base. We strive to enhance the community through our responsible stewardship, excellent service and unique offering, so Marylebone remains a coveted place for generations to come.

Our business can only continue to flourish by welcoming and engaging with a diverse range of people, experiences, business activities and interests. We seek to incorporate diversity and celebrate individuality so that we reflect and understand the people who live, work and spend time in Marylebone.

We believe that a diverse and inclusive organisation empowers our people to perform at their best. Diversity of background, perspective and thinking will provide us with greater understanding, leading to innovation and making a positive impact on our engagement with our community.

We welcome everyone who shares our approach and values, regardless of their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, or family or marital status.

We want everybody working at The Howard de Walden Estate to feel they can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging, to best serve our diverse and wide-ranging Marylebone community to our full potential. We work with our partners and stakeholders to make an impact not only in our Estate but within the broader real estate sector reflecting our long-term striving for excellence.

Key Definitions:

Diversity: The practice or quality of being different or having differences. Differences among people with respect to age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion or belief, class, social background, education level, job and function, health, physical and mental ability, physical size, personality traits, interests and other human differences.

Equity: Fair treatment for all while striving to identify and eliminate inequities and barriers

Inclusion: Recognising diversity alone is not enough; we need inclusion to ensure that diversity is embraced. Inclusion harnesses and celebrates our diversity to the benefit and greater good of the organisation, those who work in it and the wider industry. It’s about bringing diversity into action, allowing everyone to feel included and where people are proud to pull together to create environments of mutual respect.

Belonging: Belonging is about feeling part of a bigger group. Just because someone is included in our organisation, doesn’t mean they feel they belong. People feel that they belong when they are seen and valued for who they are, their true and unique self, which helps them, and people around them, to thrive.

What we are doing

We are positioning DEI&B at the centre of what we do. ‘Making organisational and operational improvements, including cultural and behavioural changes, to drive a higher level of performance’ forms one of the five strategic objectives of the business.

Our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI&B) Committee was formed in 2020 by staff members from all levels and teams to drive forward positive change within the business.

The committee has developed a five-year roadmap setting out the aims and objectives for the business. This includes a variety of initiatives such as encouraging staff to demonstrate their pronouns on their e-mail signatures and hosting internal events, to improving our maternity and paternity provision, and longer term aims like influencing our supply chain, hiring talent from a wider and under-represented pool, partnering with our customers, increasing diversity reporting, and reducing the gender pay gap.

We are proud to be a member of Real Estate Balance – a campaigning organisation established to improve diversity and inclusion in the real estate sector. We have signed up to their CEO Commitments on Diversity to challenge ourselves to improve our practices and share our experience.

Outreach and education

We combine our support of local educational institutions in Marylebone with our efforts to help increase diversity in our industry.

One of our key partnerships is with the University of Westminster. We support various programmes targeted at providing guidance, support, and opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds. This includes being an active participant in their successful Working Cultures UK programme and mentoring schemes. We also host a paid summer internship, and award annual scholarships to two students studying property-related degrees.

We also work with several local schools supporting their careers fairs, attending speed networking events and presenting on our role as a Great Estate – promoting the many and varied career paths within the sector and encouraging young people to consider a career in property.