New ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) co-chairs Emma West (Bousfields) and Toni Rossi (Infrastructure Ontario) have been very busy in the first six months of their roles, which has included organizing a new global initiative, She With He, to be launched in February.

As a relatively new group within ULI, Emma and Toni are excited to take the Toronto WLI further and expand its mandate. “The first few years were about getting people to know the group and attend the events,” Emma explains. Emma brings her past involvement with ULI, while Toni brings her experience with other associations and organizations. “Together,” as Toni happily proclaims, “we are going to put our strengths to work. It’s an opportunity to bring WLI to a bigger platform”.

Prior to her role as WLI co-chair, Emma had been involved in ULI, including a role as co-chair of the mentorship program and a seat on the Outreach Committee. Emma’s first exposure with WLI was to help to integrate it with other ULI committees.

Toni admits that she had been involved in ULI “on and off for a number of years,” but it was really her nomination to the WLI Championship Team and her close connection with previous co-chairs Godyne Sibay and Leslie Woo, as well as her other work through Toronto CREW, Women in Infrastructure and CoreNet, which led her to accept the role as co-chair.

The Women’s Leadership Initiative was started by ULI in Washington, D.C. in 2010 and initiated by ULI Toronto in 2012. The mission of WLI is to raise the visibility and number of women leaders in the real estate, land and development industries. Since it was formed, ULI Toronto’s WLI has successfully contributed to raising the profile of women in the industry through the Championship Team initiative and signature events. With 100 women on the WLI Championship Team and an increase of 13 % in ULI gender mix to its current 35%, we are seeing results.

Emma, a Senior Associate at Bousfields, and Toni, Divisional President, Real Estate and Lending at Infrastructure Ontario have been reflecting on WLI’s past and future. In her reflections, Toni appreciates the way that WLI acknowledges the great work that is being done in the industry by women in Toronto. “Women don’t take the opportunity to be celebrated, and they need to be recognized, which the WLI Championship Team initiative was all about.” Emma recognizes that “women approach work and being recognized differently and the strength of WLI is its global reach and ULI’s diversity.”

They are proud of the WLI, who are ready to launch the She With He movement next month, where women and men can be inspired to make connections and progress toward the advancement of women together.

“WLI initiatives are not just about networking, but connecting and making a difference” Toni says. “It’s an opportunity to meet other women in the industry no matter where you are in your career.”

“And that’s important,” Emma continues, “but that alone is not enough. The increase in female leaders in real estate is only going to happen when men and women work together.”

This idea of bringing men and women together is something that is going to be the future of WLI through the She With He movement. The movement was inspired by the United Nations’ He for She Campaign, an initiative that asks men to support gender equality and women’s rights by taking action against inequities faced by women and girls. She With He is a platform and a pledge which WLI will be bringing forward throughout 2016 in order to support, promote and inspire partnerships to achieve shared success through the growth of women in the industry.

Emma and Toni hope that She With He can become a global mandate throughout ULI and it is well on its way, having won a WLI Grant in San Francisco at the recent ULI Fall Meeting. As they are just beginning their two-year term, you’ll be hearing more from Emma and Toni, and all the WLI members.

• WLI is planning the inaugural She With He event on February 4^th, 2016 (Which is now sold out!)
• Championship Team nominations are now open for current Championship Team members, nominations are currently open. See WLI webpage for more details and the current WLI Championship Team.