The 14,000-member organisation has become the first of its kind to gain the accreditation.
A major real estate organisation has become the first of its kind in New Zealand to achieve the Rainbow Tick accreditation after increasing its efforts in the field of diversity.
“This is about us demonstrating publicly that we are a diverse, forward thinking organisation that supports people no matter their gender, ethnicity or sexuality,” said Bindi Norwell, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
“This is about individuals being able to bring their whole selves to work and feel safe and supported in an inclusive environment,” she continued.
The membership organisation – which represents more than 14,000 real estate professionals across the New Zealand – joins a slew of other big names with the industry accreditation, including Spark, KPMG and Microsoft.
“We believe that it’s incredibly important that we demonstrate our support of this initiative for all New Zealanders,” said Dame Rosanne Meo, chair of the REINZ Board.
“We will be encouraging throughout New Zealand to participate in this significant initiative,” she added.
Michael Stevens, program director at Rainbow Tick, said New Zealand employers have long embraced diversity but occasionally overlook the LGBTI community.
“Equity for the rainbow community is still a work in progress which is why it is great to see yet another industry publicly signal its support,” he said.
“It would be unthinkable to deny a woman a role or promotion purely on the basis of being female and the same arguments of equity and fairness apply when sexual orientation and gender identity are considered.”
