diversity Archives - REM https://realestatemagazine.ca/tag/diversity/ Canada’s premier magazine for real estate professionals. Fri, 23 Aug 2024 16:40:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://realestatemagazine.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/cropped-REM-Fav-32x32.png diversity Archives - REM https://realestatemagazine.ca/tag/diversity/ 32 32 Why realtors should embrace AI diversity: Beyond ChatGPT for better results https://realestatemagazine.ca/why-realtors-should-embrace-ai-diversity-beyond-chatgpt-for-better-results/ https://realestatemagazine.ca/why-realtors-should-embrace-ai-diversity-beyond-chatgpt-for-better-results/#respond Fri, 23 Aug 2024 04:02:49 +0000 https://realestatemagazine.ca/?p=33806 Learn why limiting your business to one AI tool is risky and explore how diverse models can provide new opportunities, better insights & enhanced adaptability

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If you think AI begins and ends with ChatGPT, you’re missing out on a universe of possibilities. While OpenAI’s chatbot took the world by storm, it’s just one star in an ever-expanding galaxy of AI models. Relying solely on ChatGPT is like trying to build a house with only a hammer — you’re limiting your potential and possibly compromising your results.

This principle applies across industries like Canadian real estate. Realtors in this field wear many hats, requiring skills in negotiation, social media, content creation and more. By exploring AI tools beyond ChatGPT, realtors can leverage diverse AI capabilities to enhance various aspects of their business, rather than limiting themselves to a single tool.

 

Risks of relying on a single AI system

 

  • Missed opportunities. Using a single AI system can lead to missed opportunities and biased results.
  • Limited perspectives. A single model can only provide a narrow view of a problem or solution.
  • Stagnation. Relying on a single AI system can lead to stagnation, as you miss out on innovations from other models.
  • Vulnerability to outages or updates. Dependence on a single system leaves you exposed if it experiences downtime or significant changes.

 

My experience using various AI models over the past four years has reinforced these risks. The quality of outputs can change dramatically, sometimes on a weekly basis. This volatility underscores the danger of stagnation when relying on a single system.

For instance, if one AI model consistently produces poor social media posts for first-time homebuyers, exploring alternative models could yield better results rather than waiting for improvements in a single system. 

 

Benefits of AI diversification

 

  • Comprehensive insights. Multiple AI models provide a more comprehensive understanding of a problem or solution.
  • Innovative solutions. AI diversification can lead to innovative solutions and new ideas.
  • Adaptability. By using multiple AI models, you can adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
  • Enhanced problem-solving. Different AI models approach problems in unique ways, leading to more robust solutions.

 

Diversify your AI arsenal — at no cost

 

Imagine having unrestricted access to the internet in its early days — you would have seized the opportunity!

Today, top tech companies worldwide are offering their cutting-edge AI language models for free. However, unlike the internet’s early days, we now have multiple AI models in an intense arms race, with innovations emerging every week.

 

Compare AI responses: One prompt, multiple platforms

 

One of the most effective ways to harness the power of AI diversity is to use identical prompts across different AI platforms. This approach allows you to directly compare outputs, highlighting each model’s unique strengths and perspectives. By using it, you can identify which AI excels at specific tasks, uncover nuanced differences in language understanding and even spot potential biases.

The method not only enhances the quality of your final output but also deepens your understanding of each AI’s capabilities, enabling you to make more informed decisions about which tool to use for future tasks.

 

Top alternative AI tools

 

In the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence world, several powerful alternatives to mainstream AI models have emerged, each offering unique strengths and capabilities.

For example, Claude by Anthropic excels in nuanced conversations and ethical reasoning, while Google’s Gemini brings multimodal capabilities and up-to-date information to the table. Perplexity AI stands out with its real-time information synthesis and source citation (very important), offering an interactive search experience. For those seeking open-source solutions, Meta’s Llama 2 provides flexibility and customizability.

By exploring and leveraging these diverse AI tools, users can tap into a rich ecosystem of capabilities, each suited to different tasks and requirements.

1. Claude by Anthropic — known for nuanced conversations, ethical reasoning, detailed explanations

2. Gemini by Google — known for multimodal capabilities, up-to-date information, integrated search

3. Perplexity AI — known for real-time information synthesis, citation of sources, interactive search

4. Llama 2 by Meta — known for open-source flexibility, customizability, strong performance on various tasks

 

Stay diverse to stay ahead

 

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and relying on a single AI system can lead to missed opportunities and biased results. By embracing AI diversification and exploring multiple models, you can gain comprehensive insights, innovative solutions and adaptability.

Stay ahead of the curve in your real estate business by harnessing the power of AI diversification.

 

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Asian Heritage Month: Moving forward by looking back https://realestatemagazine.ca/asian-heritage-month-moving-forward-by-looking-back/ https://realestatemagazine.ca/asian-heritage-month-moving-forward-by-looking-back/#respond Wed, 08 May 2024 04:03:41 +0000 https://realestatemagazine.ca/?p=30832 ‘Canadian culture is more open and accepting of diversity … ethnic background-wise or gender-wise. You have capacity to explore and do things you want’

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Every year, May marks Asian Heritage Month in North America. Here in Canada, it’s an opportunity to learn and reflect on the contributions of Asian Canadians throughout the country.

We’ve come a long way towards diversity, equity and inclusion since the days of Japanese internment during WWII and the Komagata Maru incident, but there are still racist stereotypes, cultural tropes and common misconceptions that exist in some shape or form.

The real estate industry is no exception. 

 

Anti-Asian sentiment and Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis

 

In 2018, an Asian realtor in British Columbia received a racist, threatening letter that blamed Asians for Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis.

As was reported by CTV News, the “open letter to all Asian realtors” was sent to Winnie Wu’s realty office in Coquitlam:

Source: CTVnews.ca

 

This anti-Asian sentiment only seemed to worsen during the pandemic.

Sonia Wang, managing broker of 1NE Collective Realty, has lived in Canada since 1998 when she first moved here after studying in the United States. She shares her experience of what it was actually like during this turbulent time: 

“Something that was surprising to some was that during the pandemic, even with the travel restrictions, the market was going crazier than ever,” says Wang. “We saw it was mostly local Canadians that were buying and not actually foreigners, because no foreigners could even travel.”

Ryan Zhang, managing broker at YouLive Realty, provides some more insight into the current post-pandemic market.

“We use an online tool to summarize and categorize our data,” Zhang explains. “We see that many of our clients are newcomers; they’re either looking for a home for themselves or they’re seeking a career in real estate to help them get knowledge on the industry. About 70 to 80 per cent of our clientele are buying a home for themselves.”

 

Misconception: ‘Asian doesn’t mean it’s only a certain group or ethnic background’

 

With Statistics Canada projecting that immigrants from Asia will make up between 55.7 and 57.9 percent of all immigrants by 2036, now is a critical time for the industry to deconstruct the misrepresentations of what being an Asian realtor, home buyer or seller means in our country.

“Super rich influencers you’ve seen, even some of them are realtors, on social media floating about their luxury lifestyle, cocktail parties, supercar shows … these are bad influences,” notes Zhang. “That’s not like most of the people we work with — the majority are hardworking people.”

Another misconception? Being an Asian realtor means being of Chinese descent.

Both Zhang and Wang have diverse teams at their brokerages, with members from the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and India — as well as Canadian-born realtors.

“It actually brings out different kinds of perspectives, which is a good thing for us to learn (from) because of cultural diversity,” shares Wang. “Asian doesn’t mean it’s only a certain group or ethnic background.”

 

Part of the solution is bridging the gap between cultures

 

With the theme of Asian Heritage Month in 2024 as “Advancing Leaders Through Innovation”, along with the already highly-competitive nature of Vancouver’s market, there are opportunities for all real estate professionals to elevate the industry for the better.

Zhang believes that part of the solution is bridging the gap between different cultures. 

“What I’ve observed with some Asian cultures is it’s more well-rounded, whereas Western culture seems very straightforward. So we kind of have to bridge them in the middle and find out the best way to help our immigrant clients settle into their homes.”

Wang also looks hopefully to future opportunities for Asian professionals in real estate, especially other women.

“Back in Asia, there were so many limitations that were put on female professionals — the glass ceiling, things like that,” she adds. “But Canadian culture is more open and accepting of diversity, either ethnic background-wise or gender-wise. So you have that capacity to explore and do things that you want.”

 

As an Asian-Canadian woman myself (my maiden name being Barroso, of Filipino descent), women in positions of power, like Wang, serve to give me both joy for the current state of the real estate industry as well as hope for what the future can hold for Asian-Canadian community members, whether immigrated to or born in Canada. 

 

Photo source: Canada.ca

 

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Commercial Real Estate Equity and Diversity Council launches with playbook, website https://realestatemagazine.ca/commercial-real-estate-equity-and-diversity-council-launches-with-playbook-website/ https://realestatemagazine.ca/commercial-real-estate-equity-and-diversity-council-launches-with-playbook-website/#respond Thu, 24 Jun 2021 04:00:58 +0000 https://realestatemagazine.ca/commercial-real-estate-equity-and-diversity-council-launches-with-playbook-website/ The Commercial Real Estate Equity and Diversity Council (CREED), a non-profit, non-partisan organization, has developed a practical guide for change that leaders can follow to enhance and evolve their workplaces.

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The Commercial Real Estate Equity and Diversity Council (CREED), a non-profit, non-partisan organization, has developed a practical guide for change that leaders can follow to enhance and evolve their workplaces. It establishes a business case for integrating diversity and equity in the workplace, provides tips and guidance for developing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy and offers advice for improving a company’s talent management system, including the importance of education and continuous learning, the organization says.

“While some organizations may have had deep and powerful conversations about these issues, there has been a lack of resources providing guidance on how to achieve these goals,” says CREED visionary leader Chandran Fernando of Matrix360 Inc.

Following the release of the playbook, The Evolution of Workplaces: Building a Culture of Excellence, CREED created a TV news show-style virtual event that can be viewed here. It features a panel discussion with commercial real estate leaders including Sonny Kalsi, CEO at BentallGreenOak; Andrea Del Zotto, director and executive vice president at Tridel; Pino Di Mascio, head of impact strategy and delivery at Dream; Sunita Mahant, head of global initiatives and senior director at Ivanhoe Cambridge and moderated by Celina Caesar-Chavannes, senior advisor, EDI initiatives and adjunct lecturer at Queen’s University, as they explore the challenges that exist currently and steps needed to make positive, actionable changes.

The event also features a stereotype and beliefs exercise to show what happens when people judge a book by its cover.

Recognizing that education will be an integral tool in achieving DEI goals, CREED also launched a website for learning and can recommend professionals for learning and development.

“As our communities become more and more diverse, it is imperative that we look within our companies to ensure that the insights that inform our work represent the communities that we serve. This only starts with a strong, diverse talent pool,” says Leona Savoie, CREED co-founder and senior vice president, development at Hullmark.

CREED says in the commercial real estate development industry, less than 14 per cent of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) groups are in C-suite positions; less than 34 per cent of people who identify as women are in senior, executive or C-suite positions; less than five per cent of those employed in commercial real estate identify as members of the LGBTQ2S+ community; and less than one per cent of those employed in commercial real estate identify as persons with disabilities.

“We believe leaders need to recognize and prioritize the value of diversity in order to be competitive and retain stakeholders’ engagement,” says Fernando. “At CREED, we want to act as a catalyst to initiate change through measurable programs. Through the playbook and other initiatives, we can help commercial real estate leaders take action by following our tips and guidance for developing their own diversity and equity strategies in their workplaces.”

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Women in real estate: Advancing diversity https://realestatemagazine.ca/women-in-real-estate-advancing-diversity/ https://realestatemagazine.ca/women-in-real-estate-advancing-diversity/#respond Mon, 03 May 2021 04:00:10 +0000 https://realestatemagazine.ca/women-in-real-estate-advancing-diversity/ Real estate professionals who identify as women have made remarkable advancements towards equal representation in the industry.

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Given the renewed focus on empowering women over the last few years, we are reminded that the Canadian women’s suffrage movement occurred just over 100 years ago. That decades-long fight, advocating for fundamental rights and freedoms, resulted in the passing of long overdue legislation, providing women with civil liberties and socioeconomic improvements, including participation in the workforce.

Fast-forward to today and women currently represent more than half of first-time and repeat homebuyers. By 2026 women are expected to control close to half of all accumulated wealth. While this is a testament to the remarkable success achieved by women in a relatively short period of time, it also underscores the importance of real estate literacy and ensuring reflected representation across the real estate journey.

Real estate professionals who identify as women have made remarkable advancements towards equal representation in the industry. As of 2020, nearly seven in 10 Canadian brokers identified as women, challenging preconceived notions of the industry as being male-dominated. While this is an impressive win, often overlooked and underrepresented are the women in the other segments of the industry, such as legal and insurance, who play a critical role in the real estate transaction.

In March, to commemorate International Women’s Day, important conversations about the role of women in the workplace were omnipresent – but these conversations must not be relegated to a single day or month. FCT is committed to continuing the conversation to understand how the various industries in the real estate sector are working to advance diversity, inclusion and belonging and paving the way for representation across the real estate transaction.

Leading in law

In recent years, Canadian law firms have borne witness to improvements in diversity as the industry recognized the value of varied perspectives and the importance of reflecting Canadian demographics. This need for diverse representation goes beyond the walls of the workplace and into the client base, with many clients opting for a lawyer or firm they feel truly understands them. Bottom line: clients want to see themselves represented.

The legal profession is working to meet this demand. In 2020, 43 per cent of lawyers identified as women with a further 29 per cent identifying as a visible minority, and these numbers are expected to grow. An increase in senior leadership diversity was also noted by law societies across Canada, which have implemented measures to advance equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the legal profession. The Law Society of Ontario put together a detailed guide to assist lawyers and paralegals as they work to incorporate EDI initiatives into their workplaces, which is one of many examples of the industry taking important steps forward. Other law societies across the country are also working on creating similar guidelines and other initiatives to support women in the profession, such as the Law Society of Alberta.

Innovating in insurance

Women play a significant role in the insurance industry overall, currently accounting for 62 per cent of the workforce. In addition, it is projected that 90 per cent of women at some point in their lifetime will be the sole financial decision maker and an estimated $900 billion in financial and real assets will be controlled by women within the next decade. These astounding numbers indicate the pressing importance of diverse representation, which has served as motivation for many of the industry’s notable commitments to diversity and inclusion.

The insurance industry has emerged as a trailblazer when it comes to EDI initiatives, with the sector prioritizing a culture that promotes a sense of inclusion for women and further encourages them to take leadership positions. Across North America, the insurance industry has been repeatedly recognized for its efforts in support of EDI campaigns. In 2016, CEOs in the insurance industry signaled their dedication to embracing EDI, coming together as signatories on a commitment statement, which remains in effect to this day.

Insurance organizations also continue to dominate various EDI lists such as Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index, Black Enterprise’s 50 Best Companies for Diversity and Great Places to Work 50 Best Workplaces lists, to name a few. All of these efforts and more can be found on the Insurance Information Institute’s website, which has a dedicated section that details the comprehensive efforts in the space.

Frontrunners in financial services

Banks are recognized as leaders in building representative workforces, with women now accounting for the majority of financial service industry employees. While these efforts are commendable, cultivating higher numbers of women in leadership positions has been identified as one of the greatest shortcomings – and greatest opportunity – for the financial services industry in the years to come.

According to the Canadian Bankers Association, women occupied just below 38 per cent of senior management positions and 49 per cent of all middle management positions at Canada’s six largest banks in 2019, surpassing the federal government’s benchmarks for both levels of executive leadership. As of 2020, women represent an average of 39 per cent of board of director compositions, nine per cent above the target of 30 per cent by 2022 set by Club Canada.

Recognizing that the proportion of their workforce-to-executives is off-balance when it comes to gender, financial institutions and other businesses within the financial services sector have made substantial efforts to improve representation in executive positions. Governments, organizations and industry associations have set benchmarks to incite companies to increase the number of women holding positions at the senior management level and/or on boards of directors. Cultivating diversity at the leadership level must continue to remain a top priority for businesses within the industry.

The importance of diversity in leadership

With women now representing nearly half of the Canadian workforce, tangible change brought about through EDI initiatives requires organizations to set their sights on encouraging more diverse leadership. This can be accomplished by working to promote women and visible minorities to executive positions and establishing a culture that nurtures their career development.

The highest-performing businesses tend to have more women in leadership roles. The research indicates that in higher-performing companies, 37 per cent of executive positions are held by women, compared to only 19 per cent in lower-ranked companies.

Further, organizations that prioritize equity and representation in the workplace reap quantifiable benefits. Companies with the highest levels of diversity (including gender, ethnic and racial diversity) are anywhere from 13 per cent to 15 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their industry’s national average.

Statistics reinforce the important role of women as a growing force in the workplace and in a majority of residential real estate transactions. The next generation of homebuyers want and deserve to see women represented in all of these critical industries.

The real estate industry and its related sectors are making strides in employing and supporting women – but 100 years later, there is still work to be done. It is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.

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TRREB establishes Diversity and Inclusion Task Force https://realestatemagazine.ca/trreb-establishes-diversity-and-inclusion-task-force/ https://realestatemagazine.ca/trreb-establishes-diversity-and-inclusion-task-force/#respond Tue, 29 Sep 2020 05:00:39 +0000 https://realestatemagazine.ca/trreb-establishes-diversity-and-inclusion-task-force/ The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) recently established a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. In a statement, the board says, "We care about diversity and inclusion."

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The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) recently established a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.

Its mandate: “To examine how to strengthen equality and inclusion and recommend to the Board of Directors ways to better serve and represent the various demographics that make up TRREB. The task force will put forward recommendations and action plans to foster and support a more collaborative, equal and inclusive industry and work environment.”

The members of the new task force are Kate Young, Task Force chair and member, TRREB Board of Directors;  Jennifer Pearce, Task Force vice-chair and member, TRREB Board of Directors; Justin Bock; Colin Andrew Campbell; Kevin Crigger, TRREB president-elect; Soroya Dempsey; Karlo Francisco; Wasim Jarrah, member, TRREB Board of Directors; Mona Mavi, president, Brampton Real Estate Board; Lisa Patel, TRREB president; Geeta Rajpal;  Ingrid Rojas; Daljit Singh; Asha Singh; Mark Steele; Mia That; Leilani Villar-Cisneros; Charlene Williams; and TREEB staff members Ticha Musiyiwa, executive assistant to the CEO, and Von Palmer, chief communications and government affairs officer.

In a statement, the board says, “We care about diversity and inclusion. Over the years we have reflected this at TRREB, including at the leadership and senior management levels. TRREB is determined to continue to improve on this, where we can influence in our industry. Racism against any group is unacceptable.”

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