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Diversity at AIC

Canadian Property Valuation Magazine

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2021 – Volume 65 – Book 1
Diversity at AIC
Jan Wicherek

Diversity at AIC
“I am proud to have struck the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion last fall, with a mandate, in part, to promote equity and diversity within the valuation profession. Over the coming months, volunteers appointed to the Council will begin the important work of helping ensure that our governance structure is as diverse and inclusive as the membership and public it serves.”

Over the past few decades, the demographics of the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) membership has shifted to better reflect broader Canadian society. As appraisers, we remain equipped to meet the needs of all the people and partners who seek the peace of mind that our services can provide.
The AIC seeks to foster an environment that respects people’s dignity, ideas, and beliefs within the organization and the profession at large. Diversity – in backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives – makes us stronger as both an appraisal organization and community as a whole.
We strive to continue to improve the diversity and inclusivity of the Insitute and, by extension, the appraisal profession. Furthermore, we are profoundly committed to creating an environment that does not shy away from difficult dialogues.
The AIC has recently engaged in these difficult, but necessary, conversations surrounding questions of racial bias in the valuation process. While we acknowledge that discrimination and implicit bias exists in society, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that this is not reflected in the appraisal process. Our governing documents including our Code of Conduct, Canadian Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (CUSPAP), ethics standards, complaint resolution process, and technical training, all exist to ensure that discrimination and bias is removed to the greatest extent possible throughout the appraisal profession.
This speaks to the importance of our President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion to advance our work in this area. The Council was founded during a pivotal moment of conversations on racial equity and inclusion.
As Canada, and countries around the world, continue to grapple with issues of racism and discrimination, we will contribute to the discussions in meaningful ways and ensure racial bias is eliminated from the valuation process.
The AIC will continue its work on establishing its Council on Diversity. Furthermore, we are exploring additional actions to support our commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion. Although not limited to, these avenues include:
• Developing a guiding statement on the subject of racial bias, our comments on the subject and our approach. You can find a copy of the statement here https://www.aicanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/Statement-Final-March-5-2021_EN.pdf
• Compiling technical resources and educational courses for Members taking steps to recognize and minimize bias that occurs within the real estate industry.
• Creating a session on this topic for the upcoming 2021 AIC Virtual Conference program.