In an effort to push for a more includsive system, real estate industry associations ANREV, INREV, NAREIM, NCREIF, PREA, REALPAC and ULI have partnered to create a global benchmark of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) metrics for the commercial real estate industry.
The initiative aims to support and expand the Global Real Estate DEI Survey, a corporate benchmark of gender, ethnicity and nationality across seniority and job functions across commercial real estate globally. Ferguson Partners will conduct the survey on behalf of the organisations.
Introduced in 2017 as a dedicated survey in 2020, the Global Real Estate DEI Survey will provide employee demographic and best practice metrics for Asia, Europe and North America.
It will also expand the type of commercial real estate firms being tracked to include all players within the CRE asset class, from institutional investors to real estate investment managers, architects, developers and operating partners, to service providers and consultants.
The Survey’s expansion geographically and in terms of eligible participants is a response to the growing prioritisation of DEI within CRE organisations, and the need among organisations to benchmark not only their own internal DEI policies but also that of partners and vendors.
“Having a holistic and thoughtful approach to DEI is an essential component of an effective human capital management strategy,” said Erin Green, Managing Director of Ferguson Partners, which is leading the data collection, validation and analysis on behalf of the Associations.
The Global Real Estate DEI Survey will track DEI program structure, resources and ownership; Policies focused on recruitment, retention, training and development, inclusivity, tracking and accountability and pay equity; Employee demographics by gender, ethnicity and nationality, across seniority and job function, as well as DEI hiring, promotion and departure trends year-over-year.
The Survey results will be presented at a regional level and by type of firm to ensure the ability of participants to compare themselves on a peer-to-peer basis.