Innovation

The Women’s Initiative Network, commonly referred to as WIN, is a women-led initiative at RioCan REIT that works to empower women throughout the company and inspire other similar movements in the real estate industry. The Women’s Initiative Network hosts various company and industry events, welcomes guest speakers, and provides resources to RioCan employees in a cohesive effort to combat unfair treatment that women commonly face in the world of business.

The difference that the Women’s Initiative Network has made at RioCan cannot be understated. A stable stream of women-to-women mentorship and general education has helped female employees at RioCan feel comfortable pursuing personal development, speaking up about issues, presenting ideas, and raising concerns.

“Part of what WIN does is promote a dynamic work environment where differences are acknowledged, valued, and encouraged. I think that everyone should feel like they’re a part of the team, and feel heard, valued, and appreciated. I would say that diversity, and all the pathways of it. Diversity of faith, gender, race, and as a healthy work environment, a diversity of valued ideas, thought, background and perspective.” By helping improve gender equality with the Women’s Initiative Network, RioCan is addressing a significant historical issue in the Canadian real estate industry head-on. WIN has succeeded at enhancing networking, promotional, and mentorship opportunities at RioCan, and in the Real Estate industry, while also reducing inequalities historically present for women in business.

Inspiration

The Women’s Initiative Network was founded by Jennifer Suess in late 2017, shortly after she was hired by RioCan as their General Counsel. Since its inception, WIN has established itself within both RioCan and the real estate industry as a pioneering innovation. Mrs. Suess noted how “historically, women have to bear a lot of the burden at home, whether with aging family or children, but are not given reasonable support at work”, which leads to many women “not asking for what they need, and not feeling comfortable enough to do so”.

“In such a male-dominated field, I thought there was a serious need to encourage women at RioCan and do what I could to ensure that women were given equal opportunities here.”

Deeply rooted issues stemming from gender inequalities faced by women in business led Jennifer Suess and the founding members of WIN to step up and try to make a difference. WIN seeks to tackle both tangible and intangible inequalities faced by women in real estate. In a tangible sense, the gender pay gap is a significant issue that WIN seeks to close, and this was a huge inspiration for the founding of WIN. Intangible issues such as suppression of idea sharing, and expression are existent in the Canadian real estate community. These issues are also something that WIN aims to eliminate.

The Women’s Initiative Network was founded to provide women at RioCan with a strong women-to-women support group, promote mentorship, and encourage personal development for women at RioCan. WIN provides a structure for female development at RioCan that was sorely lacking at both the company and in the industry.

Overall impact

In the first year immediately after the implementation of WIN, RioCan saw a 17% increased presence of women in senior positions. By innovating with the Women’s Initiative Network, RioCan managed to promote the idea of having strong women in the workplace. This effectively supported talent acquisitions and inspired significant internal growth as well. The implementation of WIN also served as an important first step for RioCan that continues to encourage leadership skills and personal development in female employees.

In the long term, the results continue to show. 37.5% of senior executive positions at RioCan are now held by women. According to Jennifer, WIN has had an extremely positive impact on the morale of women in the company since its implementation, with Jennifer stating, “We’ve seen increased retention rates in our female staff”.

The importance of the Women’s Initiative Network was truly reflected during COVID-19. In a time of great uncertainty for all businesses, especially real estate, RioCan was able to maintain a positive internal attitude. For women particularly, WIN provided additional support at a time when women had to bear drastically increased responsibilities at home. Without schools/daycares being open in Canada for much of 2020, WIN served a vital role in supporting the women of RioCan and ensuring that they felt a sense of job security during seriously uncertain times.

Additionally, having Mrs. Suess serve as the corporate sponsor for the Women’s Initiative Network opened other opportunities for her to lead various sustainability-based initiatives. Since 2017, Jennifer has also assumed the title of Senior Vice President of the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Department, and has directed the department to adopt various Science Based Targets Initiatives for RioCan properties throughout Canada.

Business benefit

Internally, the Women of RioCan are in a far better work environment than they were prior to the implementation of WIN. The existence of WIN encourages further development in female staff, which has obvious benefits for productivity and retention reasons. Creating a more comfortable and supportive workplace allows for far more diversity of opinion, and confidence to speak up on various issues and ideas. Since WIN was formed, various departments have seen the emergence of female leaders. Investor Relations, RioCan Living, Insurance, Development Construction, and the ESG team are all entire departments that are led by women. The Women’s Initiative Network encourages a strong work environment for these leaders to feel completely comfortable leading without hesitance. This strong environment also bolsters the attractiveness of RioCan as an employer. Because of the strong encouragement of women, RioCan is positioning itself to acquire the best female talent available.

Additionally, the success of WIN has led to the creation of other committees that serve different purposes for RioCan. For example, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee was formed in October 2020, and in 2021, RioCan unveiled a DEI Policy to further communicate its objective of achieving a safe workplace that encourages values congruent to those of WIN. The success of WIN evidently served to inspire further growth and development surrounding RioCan’s ongoing commitment to promoting diversity of all kinds within its workplace.

Creating and outwardly displaying these innovations also supports RioCan’s relationship with financial shareholders. From a financial standpoint, it makes RioCan a far more attractive firm for potential shareholders if they have a strong internal culture. The development of WIN and other initiatives have given shareholders a very strong reason to believe that RioCan will continue to maintain a strong and sustainable presence in the real estate industry.

Social and environmental benefit

The success of the Women’s Initiative Network has immense benefits, as it serves as a valuable steppingstone for women and an overall more equitable society. WIN serves as an important way to further develop the skills and confidence of women at RioCan, and according to Mrs. Suess, has spurred various similar initiatives at other companies in the real estate industry. This continued prioritization of female development and growth across the industry leads to an overall stronger societal portfolio. RioCan is a small sample size, however, the success of WIN has already encouraged more firms to adopt similar practices to maximize female contributions, and in turn, maximize total contributions. Strong businesswomen improve society, and WIN has been a huge factor in inspiring more future female leaders.

WIN's success at RioCan has had a ripple effect, inspiring a wave of initiatives across industries that champion diversity and inclusivity. The program's impact extends beyond the company, acting as a catalyst for positive change within the broader real estate sector. The success of WIN is a huge contributor to the growing network of initiatives that work to create new opportunities for underrepresented groups.

Beyond real estate, the influence of WIN has the potential to transcend industry boundaries, serving as a model for organizations aiming to empower women in various other fields. As businesses witness the positive outcomes of prioritizing gender equality, a shift in CSR priorities may occur. Although the direct long-term societal impacts are yet to be seen, the existence and coinciding success of WIN has set a strong program structure that other firms can follow in the future.

Interview

Jennifer Suess, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, ESG & Corporate Secretary