A trio of agents working in a hybrid agency have setup an LGBTQ+-focused mentoring, learning and networking group.
James Hummerstone-Pope, Danielle Andrews and Caren Gilbert-Weedman all work at eXp UK, an agency consisting of self-employed operators, mostly in England: the company has recently announced plans to expand its reach through Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The new group – called LGBTQ+ in Estate Agency – aims to offer camaraderie, support and advice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning community in the wider property industry.
It says it’s to be active in several different areas – Mentoring (for those who identify as LGBTQ+ and work in the industry); Upskilling (helping each other gain better skills and to improve as a collective); Learning (where agents and other industry professionals who are not LGBTQ+ can learn about the community); Networking (with events open to anyone identifying as LGBTQ+).
Hummerstone-Pope says: “In the 2021 census around 1.5m people identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or question their sexual orientation. If you translate that as a percentage of the population to the hundreds of thousands of people that work in the UK property industry, it’s clear that the LGBTQ+ community needs proper representation and indeed support whether ‘out’ or not.
“This is not a campaign group to start to force gender-free pronouns upon the property industry nor to attempt to promote a political view on gay and trans issues – rather a platform to simply help, support and champion LGBTQ+ people in property.
“It’s the support for our community that this group is all about and whether it’s professional career advancement through knowledge, mentoring help or just having a few like-minded friends to chat to and to meet in order to feel part of something safe, I invite anyone that identifies as LGBTQ+ or that would like to help us help promote our cause, to contact me or one of my colleagues for a welcoming chat”.
There’s a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lgtbqinestateagency for more information.
