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REALTOR® ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE
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 Minority Goals, Diverse Leaders By Kyle Lambert London Although associations reflect the membership they serve, they also must mirror their community. As communities across the country become more culturally and racially diverse, successful associations actively seek to reflect that diversity in their services, programs, membership, and especially in their leadership. Associations that actively encourage minority leadership will realize increased minority member involvement and minority community support. Associations with active and visible minority leaders show their communities that they understand local needs, they are an inclusive organization, and they want to work with the community. When Oscar Gonzales, chief strategic relations officer of the Houston Association of Realtors, started looking at diversity issues at his association, he noticed the leadership didn’t reflect the community or the membership. And HAR wanted to change that. First, Gonzales looked at the area’s demographics and understood that Houston’s population profile had changed dramatically between 1990 and 2000. There was a 19.8 percent increase in African Americans, a 75 percent increase in Asians, and a 76.5 percent increase in the number of Hispanics, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To maintain good relationships in the community, HAR concluded that it must adopt a strategy that reflects a true commitment to community involvement. The association realized the importance of building what it calls “relational equity,” meaning that “it’s not just an economic responsibility you have to the membership, it’s a social responsibility as well,” Gonzales says. From a housing opportunity perspective, HAR partnered with Fannie Mae, HUD, Housing Opportunities of Houston, Texas Veterans Land Board, and other organizations to educate practitioners about the multitude of lending programs available to emerging markets and credit-challenged consumers. The association launched an extensive awareness campaign featuring billboards in multiple languages, sponsoring a Spanish-language real estate radio show, conducting homebuying seminars, and producing brochures in multiple languages that emphasize the importance of using a Realtor¨ and explain the steps involved in buying a home. Gameplan to diversity To better represent the diverse communities you serve, follow these tips from Gonzales: Actively seek out issues, trends, and opportunities to increase your minority involvement. Try to anticipate your members’ needs; don’t simply respond to issues. Identify partners who can bring something to the table such as experience, money, or vision. “Some of our partners are Fannie Mae, HUD, Conoco/Phillips, American Red Cross, the City of Houston, Rice University, Houston Community College, and the Greater Houston Partnership,” says Gonzales. Offer multilingual brochures, literature, and Web site content representing the diversity of your community. Offer a list of members by languages spoken and cultures they are familiar with. Work together with housing organizations on a national level to bring minority-focused initiatives to your community. “We’ve partnered with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the newly formed Asian Real Estate Association of America, and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (REALTISTS) on seminars for minority members and to create minority outreach efforts,” says Gonzales. Consider partnering with your local community college to recruit new members from a variety of cultural backgrounds. In fall 2003, Houston will launch a program with Houston Community College in which participating brokers offer internships to minority students. Commit to diversity When Paul Stewart, association executive and government affairs director at the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, Calif., took a closer look at the community he serves, he found that 50 percent of the incoming membership doesn’t speak English as a first language. “We decided to make internal changes that reflected not only our membership but also our changing community,” Stewart says. “Our work starts with our own organization. We must commit to making changes and commit the money to do it.” To that end, the association’s equal opportunity committee began a number of initiatives, including: Rallying grassroots support. Get directors and committees on board with desired, outlined goals and then identify a number of outreach efforts. Delivering its diversity message through translations of documents, NAR’s At Home with Diversity Program, sales seminars, and an online language service. Mentoring minority leaders and promoting minority association involvement. Employing minority leaders throughout the organization and on all committees. Take up the challenge Like the Santa Clara association, associations across the country are pursuing similar initiatives and incorporating them into their strategic plans to reflect a focus on diversity issues and programs. NAR has been looking at these issues and, after a recent survey of AEs, has recently determined, through its Equal Opportunity Cultural Diversity Committee, that it will begin work on developing a diversity tool kit. This tool kit will provide research on minority member involvement, templates of successful local diversity programs for members and consumers, links to diversity data and national minority organizations, and activities for association’s diversity committees. For more information on NAR’s diversity initiatives or to pass along your diversity success story, contact Ted Wright at 202/383-1201 or e-mail diversity@realtors.org. Guide to Diversity for Associations For a wealth of articles on diversity in associations and links to more resources online, visit NAR’s Information Central library collection at http://www.REALTOR.org/libweb.nsf/pages/fg612 More Online For more on NAR’s diversity programs and how associations can promote diversity, visit http://www.REALTOR.org/Diversity. Click here to Send feedback on this article. |
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