By Morgan Brown, President and Co-Founder of Oakwyn Realty | Forbes | August 17, 2021
When building a company, you must decide the core values that represent your brand. For myself, that meant sitting down and evaluating my experiences so that I could bring something transformative to the industry. As a young woman from a minority background, I began my career by learning the many obstacles that face those who come from minority groups, whether that means gender, race or another marginalized identity. Learning to overcome these challenges and grow from them has been one of my greatest learning experiences and one that I continue to embrace as one of the leaders of Oakwyn Realty.
Statistics Canada has found that 75.6% of women were participating in the labour force, almost 12% less than men. This earning power is even more decreased amongst minority, immigrant and indigenous communities. Our company was founded by three agents, all of whom come from a minority background, with two of us being women. As a result, we not only recognize the importance of diversity, but also the power and strength that it brings to our team. Together we have made it our priority to build an inclusive company, where diversity is more than an office buzzword.
Invite New Ideas
Including diversity in your business structure is an opportunity to introduce new ideas into your company. When you are working with a wide variety of people, all with different backgrounds and opinions, your results will be more reflective of the community you serve. Far too often we see groups of leaders who, despite their best intentions, are making decisions based on the experiences of an identical group of people. By opening our doors to inclusivity, we have strengthened our ties with our community, team members and clients.