Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Survey

In 2020, the Board of Directors assembled a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Task Force comprised of Association members to assess and recommend what the next steps should be for the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors® (HGAR) after a year of turmoil and social unrest. The work of the task force produced several recommendations after several months of work. One of the recommendations to the board included the administration of a DEI survey that would collect data to help understand the composition of its members and their alignment with the association. The information from the survey will eventually help inform the future strategies and direction of the association.

Who Took the Survey?

The survey was administered by a third-party consultant, LEARNS Collaborative. The decision to use a consultant was made to keep all responses anonymous and confidential. Honest and transparent feedback produces the best results. The survey went out to all 13,000+ members at the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors® on July 14 and closed after 3 weeks ending on August 6, 2021. The survey has three distinctive parts, capturing (1) the demographic data of our members, (2) their agreement/disagreement levels and (3) recommended action items to enhance DEI at the association. All the questions were optional and were not limited for survey completion. As for participation, we sent several emails and received an average open rate of 32% with an 8% average click rate totaling to a responding rate of 9.3% for a total of 1,234 members responses. The participants represented a wide range of responses that will help to better understand our community for long-term improvement in membership engagement, interaction, and support. Below are a few of the key highlights of the survey.

Highlights

  • Majority of our respondents (69%) identify as White/Caucasian followed by Black/African American (11%), Hispanic/Latinx (11%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3%), Multiracial/Biracial (2%), and Native American/Alaskan Native (<1%).
  • The top four counties where our members reside are Westchester, Orange, Rockland, and the Bronx.
  • The two highest tenure groups, from those who participated in the survey, are the 0 - 4 & 20+ year categories. New entrants into the association are a lot more diverse than any other tenure group. The 0-4 tenure group has a white population of 57% versus 87% for those 20+.
  • Women account for 70% of those who responded to the survey but only account for 50% of principal brokers. The other top two roles, salesperson & associate broker, are closer aligned to the overall breakdown with 72% and 73%, respectively.
  • Assessing each age group by race, we found more racial diverse representation among the younger age groups. Both 60-69 & 70+ age groups are overwhelmingly white at 80% and 90%, respectively.
  • Of those who responded, 73% are working in the industry in a full-time capacity. The age groups with the largest full-time percentage of workers are the 60-69, 30-39, and 20-29.
  • From those who responded, 74% of our members agreed:
  • HGAR's strategic direction is aligned to their professional values,
  • HGAR represents them well as a REALTOR® or affiliate,
  • HGAR provides tools for them to succeed in their role(s), and
  • HGAR provides valuable professional development offerings.
  • Below are the neutral responses for each statement posed on the survey. This is the percentage of people who responded with neither agree nor disagree.
  • HGAR’s strategic direction is aligned to my professional values (28%),
  • HGAR represents me well as a REALTOR or Affiliate (22%),
  • HGAR provides tools for me to succeed in my role (13%), and
  • HGAR provides valuable professional development offerings (12%).

If you have any additional questions or feedback regarding the survey, please reach out to Freddimir Garcia, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer.

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