"It's about three things – diversity, similarity and visibility."
Shopping centre giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's UK chief operating officer Scott Parsons is reflecting on how the company ensures its real estate – including Europe's two most visited shopping centres, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City – is safe and welcoming for all people no matter their background, ethnicity, sexuality or disabilities.
Parsons is speaking as Pride Month comes to an end in the UK. As he points out, he is the only C-suite leader at a major UK real estate developer and investor from the LGBTQ-plus community. "That is since Brian [Bickell] stepped down at Shaftesbury."
"Our centres in the UK are located in one of the most diverse cities in the world and we want to reflect that."
The first part of the conundrum, the "diversity", is based on talking to as many organisations across as wide a range of backgrounds as possible about their experiences and needs, Parsons says. "Eight of our leadership team from 11 are women in the UK. That's something we are proud of."
Parsons seeks input from Freehold, the networking and support forum for the UK real estate industry's LGBTQ-plus community. He is a co-chair with Kelly Canterford of Tigrou Consulting. He also asks advice from Preach Inclusion, the former BAME in Property, which represents black, Asian and minority ethnic members of the profession; InsideOut, the charity for prisoners and ex-offenders; and Purple, the organisation focused on promoting the requirements of disabled people, among others.
The "similarity" piece is, in part, about learning how to make visitors feel they are not alone at the centres. "We talk to women's groups about how we can make them feel safe, we speak to organisations such as the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation in terms of people from different ethnic backgrounds feeling safe. If you are from the LGBTQ-plus community you want to know 'can I hold my partner's hand when I walk out of the cinema?'"
Parsons says similarity is entwined with the third pillar, "visibilty", a reason he is keen to turn the centres into places with rainbow sites and special promotions during Pride.
"Visibility means there is less likelihood of demonising a minority group. Small gestures add up in the end. In terms of accessibility, too, our concierges are trained to accommodate disability to provide an extra level of comfort. And this is in lots of ways. We have guidance from the Autism Society, for instance, to get information on the levels music should be played at."
As with all major shopping centres and event spaces, to ensure visitors feel safe URW is also continually monitoring the threat level from various extremist organisations. "We have a Met Police substation in each centre. And we will subtly increase the police presence at centres if there is an indication of a threat. We are of course extremely well connected with the intelligence network and we have thousands of CCTV cameras that can be used."
In terms of the wider real estate industry, Parsons says organisations such as Freehold are pivotal in improving diversity and inclusivity.
"At Freehold there are 1,000 members and they can attend more and more events. It demonstrates to people from the LGBTQ-plus community you are not alone and that is most important, I think, if you work in small and medium enterprises not in the big organisations. Sometimes you can feel like the only gay in the village at an SME and the network Freehold provides is important."
And that visibility is vital in helping people from all backgrounds be comfortable saying who they are, particularly when there still is prejudice. "It still happens," Parsons reflects, recounting a recent meeting where he was told he should talk to a retail occupier as they were from "your tribe".
"If you are 24 years old that might push you back into the closet," Parsons says. He adds that a crucial litmus test for advice comes from his four children. "How they look at the world is very useful."