Diversity & Inclusion at Poline Associates
For more than a year now, Poline has been discussing diversity & inclusion behind the scenes with various organizations and individuals. But we want to do more than talk. We are ready to act.
We want to help the shopping center industry better reflect the myriad of consumers it serves and know that in order to do that we must examine our own policies and procedures to ensure they promote diversity, inclusion and equality.
Poline’s Diversity & Inclusion Efforts
In that vein, we recently included the Poline Associates Diversity & Inclusion Statement on our website. Creating a formal statement and sharing it publicly demonstrates our firm’s intent to improve. We’ve also focused recent blogs on this important discussion, including Recruiter Role in Diversity & Inclusion and Project REAP: A Call to Action for Diversity.
But I promise these actions are only the beginning of our long-term efforts.
ICSC Partners in Diversity & Inclusion
More than a year ago, our firm took perhaps its important action to better understand our own role in the lack of industry diversity. We started participating in ICSC’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. This group was born out of ICSC’s Partners in Diversity & Inclusion Initiative (PIDI).
PIDI’s mission is “to help our member companies attract, develop and retain a diverse workforce and to create a culture within the retail and real estate industry in which all people are valued.”
This initiative offers an environment where ICSC members discuss the current situation and discuss ways to improve D&I. Top priorities include supporting members’ D&I strategies; developing an industry-relevant collection of D&I best practices, trends and data; and connecting diverse members at ICSC conferences.
PIDI already offers Best in Practice articles on topics, such as Talent and Culture, Unconscious Bias and Board Diversity, and several entities partner with ICSC in its mission to create a more diverse industry, including the ICSC Foundation, CREW, Nareit, AAREPDC and REAP.
Diversity & Inclusion Working Group
The Diversity & Inclusion Working Group provides strategic guidance to ICSC’s PIDI. Group responsibilities include:
- Share best D&I practices
- Identify potential collaborative partners
- Provide topics for speakers or webinars
- Contribute to thought leadership pieces
Poline’s Commitment
At Poline, we are committed to advancing our industry’s diversity, inclusion and equality by putting words into action and partnering with organizations like ICSC’s Diversity & Inclusion Working Group. We’ll continue to share relevant topical articles and showcase success stories. Please contact me if you need support in team building or would like to join this ongoing dialogue.