At Magenta, our goal is to create a work environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued and supported to thrive in their careers and reach their professional goals. We are proud to share that our Senior Leadership team is comprised of 43% women and that women make up around 68% of our employees.
This year, we are pursuing our first ever Women in Mortgages campaign! We encourage you to keep an eye on our social media channels and upcoming blogs to learn more about how we are contributing to uplifting women within the mortgage industry. As part of this initiative, we will be a silver sponsor at CMP’s (Canadian Mortgage Professional) Women in Mortgage Summit! On June 1st, CMP is hosting their inaugural event to amplify the careers of women within the mortgage industry through panel discussions, keynote speakers and fireside chats to create dialogue around some of our industry’s most pressing issues and discuss potential solutions.
Why support Women in Mortgages?
We believe in celebrating the positive impact women at Magenta have had on the company and our industry. We want to lead by example in hopes that our peers feel inspired to pursue their own initiatives and recognize the phenomenal contributions of women on their own teams. We strive to leverage diverse perspectives to achieve our corporate goals and find actionable ways to support the women within the mortgage industry, whether they are new or seasoned in their careers.
When presented with the Women in Mortgage Summit sponsorship opportunity, Our Chief Operating Officer, Greg Sinclair, confirmed that supporting this campaign was an easy decision: “Quite simply, Magenta would not be what it is today without the strong women that have contributed and continue to contribute to the Magenta story. By sponsoring this event we get to support the continued growth of women in mortgages and celebrate their accomplishments.” Studies have shown that when men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, 96% of organizations see progress.
CMP’s event provides us with an opportunity to highlight our female broker network and what they have accomplished. This event also allows us to acknowledge the challenges faced by women in the mortgage industry. We are thrilled to be a key sponsor for an event designed to break down barriers and level the playing field for long-term success because her tomorrow matters.
Allyship
At Magenta, we create a culture that exhibits allyship and provides a safe space for people to express ideas, feelings, challenges, and opportunities regardless of gender, race, orientation, or background. We’re at our best when we collaborate and leverage the diverse perspectives and knowledge of our team. If we limit any one person’s ideas, we’re limiting ourselves.
Our Founder & CEO firmly believes that “we find the best people and hire them. [He] believe[s] passionately in equality of opportunity.”
We create collaborative teams and encourage our employees to commend work well done while respectfully challenging one another to produce the best possible results. To achieve this goal, we first acknowledge that everyone has unconscious biases.
Unconscious bias is sneaky and affects our day-to-day interactions and decision- making. Even those with the best intentions can be swayed by assumptions shaped by external factors like the media or life experiences without knowing it. To overcome unconscious bias and be true allies, we should accept that we all have biases, listen carefully to the individual perspectives of others, make informed decisions, and recognize the influences in our own backgrounds, both personally and professionally, that may have given us advantages that weren’t available to others. The end goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of who they are, has equal opportunities to contribute and succeed in the workplace.
Tips on how to be an Ally
Here are some actionable items we try to exhibit in our day-to-day:
Listen. Don’t just hear: Listen carefully to what your colleagues are saying, and asking for, in order to properly address what they want or need.
Prepare and be informed: Before presenting to your team, or leading large group discussions, prepare with colleagues and talk about the approach you’d like to take. It will help you recognize and unlearn unconscious biases. It will also give you the opportunity to recognize intersectionality within your team.
Respect your colleagues’ time: No one likes to be told what to do. No matter their position in the organization, they have commitments, and they need to deliver on them. Ask them how you can support them to achieve what needs to be done.
Communicate clearly: Don’t assume that what you know is what your colleagues know. Explain and share your rationale without being condescending.
Uplift your colleagues: Find opportunities for everyone to be acknowledged through forms of recognition, promotions or highlighting them in other ways.
The Future of Women in Mortgages
We are committed to recognizing women in mortgages throughout the year. We encourage our broker community and industry partners to engage with us on our social channels and share how they acknowledge and celebrate women in our industry, because #hertomorrowmatters.
For more information on CMP’s event, please visit: https://womeninmortgage.ca.