DCS Chair - "I've been inspired to act...!!

Well, well indeed 😞what a revelation from the U.K. Government via No. 10 led by Dr Tony Sewell CBE ..... irrespective of what label we are given #Black / #BME or #BAME - let us all be crystal 💎clear - as of today - 31/03/21 - and in the presence of the ‘official’ U.K. Government led report, duly endorsed by the Chair of the Race & Ethnic Disparities Commission – know that we have truly and unquestionably gone BACKWARDS, IN (NETT) / REAL TERMS, BY AT LEAST A QUARTER OF A CENTURY (yes, 25 years)* if not more .........

.............and along with much of the positive progress observed during my near 30year career, we have reverted back to a time, where we were, as I graduated in 1994 🤦🏾‍♂. I left the University of Wolverhampton, returning to London at a time when the UK construction industry was both struggling to accept and embrace ‘difference’; the facts simply don't lie. In complete denial on race / ethnicity, the industry was also struggling to respect, retain and promote women, but that is another conversation.

My work as Chairman of the Construction Leadership Diversity Forum, working with the EHRC back in 2010/2011; leading on an important piece of work termed an ‘Inquiry into Race Discrimination in the Construction Industry’, delved into the key issues [of the day, at that time] and produced an ‘Action Plan’ (see above) which made twenty-one (21) recommendations to address the very same thing that has today been alleged not to exist. The ‘Action Plan’ was gifted to the CITB in the form of the Fairness, Inclusion and Respect Agenda; still in existence and operational today.

Not satisfied with that and having set up DiverseCity Surveyors in 2005/06, I challenged my own professional body Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 'RICS' to ensure that they could ‘see me’ and others that look like me; not just our RICS Membership Number. Last year the RICS Executive Team led by Sean Tompkins / Matthew Howell, heard first-hand from a group of our members, all from the Black community; they were truly moved and remained speechless. Those conversations within the backdrop of George Floyd RIEP, inspired a global commitment from RICS to support Black / #BME or #BAME Surveyors. Candidly, I thought that my work was done and completed on 14.08.20 _ but what was I thinking?

Well, God help us now and for all those Black / BME or BAME individuals that work for professional services firms, other construction led businesses and/or any other part(s) of the built environment sector; who were never really in my/our corner and who never truly understood my/our individual #livedexperience _ please take a very deep breath. #Allyship counts more than ever before, and if you really do want to see positive change, that will truly introduce and sustain an inclusive equitable environment, with equal access to #career #opportunity for all to thrive and progress, we need to be open, honest and act now. Personally, I've just been inspired to act on the continued inaction.

The largely diabolical situation on matters of race and ethnic disparity, current and growing in the UK, that renders my own body of work as 'potentially, meaningless' continues to amass a ‘mental-health’ ticking time-bomb [particularly for young industry entrants]. It all just got horribly real in March 2021, on the back of everything else that continues to co-exist for the Black, BME / BAME community.

So, for those of you who call themselves / yourselves an #ally, YOUR #allyship is really going to be tested [publicly] and any genuine effort has truly just begun [yes, today on 31st March 2021] ........ #ItsTime to #BeTheChangeYouWantToSee ....... so let's get to work.