Company

kwx Taps DEI Expert Julia Lashay Israel

Austin, TX | May 25, 2021

Two diversity, equity and inclusion courses to launch in summer 2021

AUSTIN, TEXAS May 25, 2021 – kwx, the holding company of Keller Williams Realty (‘KW’), announces a partnership with Julia Lashay Israel to lead the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

“A longtime agent, Julia has a passion for raising awareness around diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Mark Foley, chief people officer, kwx. “We are committed to creating an environment where team members and associates of all backgrounds feel welcome and included, thrive as unique individuals, and see themselves represented across our organization.”

Available to all associates, KW is preparing to launch two upcoming DEI courses in summer 2021. The goal is to reach more than 10,000 agents with one or both the two 1.5-hour courses over the next year.

• The “Unconscious Bias” course creates awareness and is focused on how the brain unconsciously produces bias, how bias continues to impact housing, and how to identify and alleviate bias.
• The “Color of Real Estate” course offers an in-depth overview of Fair Housing policy and on the historic practices that have contributed to the current homeownership gap for diverse groups of the U.S. population.

As the head of inclusion and belonging, Israel advises, trains and coaches leaders, team members, and agents to recognize and address diversity, equity and inclusion opportunities and challenges across the organization.

“Now, more than ever, it is imperative that real estate professionals increase their knowledge in cultural diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Israel. “Choosing to embrace diversity not only allows real estate professionals to grow their businesses, but also improves communities through increased homeownership. Kwx is uniquely positioned to greatly impact the world in this way.”

Additionally, Israel will chair the Social Equity Task Force (SETF) for associates and kwx’s internal employee DEI Committee. In 2020, KW announced the creation of the SETF.

At that time, Gary Keller, executive chairman of kwx and co-founder of KW, charged the SETF to “come forward with recommendations for action to eliminate racial disparity within our company, our industry, so we can lead the way in the communities where we live and work.”

Later in 2020, KW also added a new core belief “Equity: Opportunities for all” to the KW Belief System.

Over the past 20 years, Israel has trained and coached thousands of real estate professionals. A community leader and homeownership advocate, Israel has instructed continuing education courses on diversity, career development, and homeownership.

Israel is the co-founder and owner of Refocus University, a real estate training firm, focused on career development and diversity.

In April 2021, for the second consecutive year, Forbes ranked KW as one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2021. Recently, KW was also announced as a founding partner of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance.

“Through Julia’s leadership and the ongoing recommendations of our Social Equity Task Force, we’re committed to leading the way in our industry by providing an even more equitable culture,” said Foley.     

About kwx

Austin, Texas-based kwx is the holding company of Keller Williams Realty, the world’s largest real estate technology franchise by agent count. With more than 1,080 offices and 195,000 associates worldwide, Keller Williams is also No. 1 in units and sales volume in the United States.

In 2020, Keller Williams initially began the formation of kwx, composed of Keller Williams, Keller Williams Worldwide, Keller Offers and Keller Home Financial Services, consisting of Keller Mortgage and Keller Covered. Since 1983, the company has cultivated an agent-centric, technology-driven and education-based culture that rewards agents as stakeholders. For more information, visit kwx.kw.com.

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