Survey Shows Progress in Diversity Efforts in Real Estate Investment Management

Originally published for NAIOP's Development Magazine Summer 2021 Issue by Trey Barrineau.

However, a lot of work remains despite tangible advances in recent years.

Women and minorities have made some progress in reaching the C-suite in commercial real estate investment management firms during the past few years, but the 2021 NAREIM Diversity & Inclusion Survey shows that there is still a lot of work to do.

“Material, sustained changes will take time to show through in the data,” said Zoe Hughes, CEO of NAREIM, in a release. “But what is clear is that there is a mandate and momentum for DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) to be a priority within the real estate investment management industry.”

The survey, conducted by NAREIM and executive recruitment firm Ferguson Partners, reveals that the real estate investment management industry as a whole is mostly male and white. Men, who are 49.2% of the U.S. population according to the U.S. Census, comprise 60% of full-time employees in the real estate investment management, and non-Hispanic whites, who are 62.8% of the U.S. population, represent 73% of workers. (Blacks make up 6% of the industry, while Asians and Hispanics each represent 10% of CRE investment-management staffing.)

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