BUSINESSMANAGEMENTREVIEW.COMDECEMBER 20239equitable interview panels, or leveraging their networks to access diverse and untapped talent pools. At Colliers, we have six ERGs (with two more starting in 2023) that represent more than 1/3 of our employee population.COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: CHAMPIONING DEI OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATIONEstablishing relationships with external organizations and industry associations gives firms a chance to learn best practices from groups at the centre of the DEI space who are leading the way for change. Partnerships must be meaningful in terms of the alignment to your firm's strategy and ESG vision. At Colliers we focus on several community partnerships including Catalyst, CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women Network), REAP, and the BlackNorth Initiative. We take direct action in supporting underrepresented groups and pledge to improve our representation across our organization. Partnering with CREW, who is at the forefront of achieving gender equity and greater diversity in the commercial real estate industry (CRE), holds our leaders accountable to helping advance women in CRE and increase diversity, equity, and inclusion overall. As part of our ESG strategy, we have announced a goal to have 40% female employees overall and in manager+ roles by 2025. Our pledge to organizations like CREW keeps us accountable and committed to creating equity in CRE. Through the BlackNorth Initiate CEO Pledge we have committed to addressing anti-Black systems and barriers, a charitable spend with black organizations, and improving our representation of black leaders and interns.Making sure there are meaningful and intentional connections to community partnerships can foster learning and offer different perspectives to help an organization think differently, seek support, and drive meaningful change for their people, clients, and communities. It takes all these elements ­ executive leadership, involvement from employees across the business, and community partners ­ working together in an environment where meaningful, complex, and sometimes difficult conversations can take place, to make tangible progress towards your goals and doing what's right. Taking a multifaceted approach to DEI is essential, and success in this space requires approaching it from all sides
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