The national reckoning on race that began a year ago in the wake of George Floyd’s murder forced the commercial real estate industry to take a hard look in the mirror. The reflection wasn’t pretty. The industry remains overwhelmingly White, from the C-suite to the rank-and-file employees, and the entry-level compensation structure at many companies still makes it harder for people from diverse backgrounds to succeed. But the persistence and variety of the voices calling for change have kept the industry from turning its attention away from that hard reality. Many leaders realized that the time for talking was over, and they committed to taking real action. “With the killing of George Floyd, it changed everything,” National Multifamily Housing Council CEO Doug Bibby said. “It was so raw, so real, that I said to myself, ‘I can’t just write another speech about this.’ Words right now are not going to matter. There are going to be plenty of words, but what we need to do is act." 
Bisnow spoke to more than 20 high-level members of the real estate industry for this story. Many of the largest companies in the industry, including Tishman Speyer, Hines, Related Cos. and Brookfield, didn't make their leaders available for interviews, instead issuing brief statements.The industry looks largely the same today as it…  Read the full story here. | 
