Real estate was moved by politics in 2020.

George Floyd had just been murdered, and a powerful Black Lives Matter movement gripped the collective consciousness of the world — a force that reached all the way to the pinnacles of corporate America.

The challenge was clear: What actions will you take?

For commercial real estate — a traditionally white, male-dominated industry — the time had come to finally evolve its ranks, and to its credit, the industry changed.

As is evident in the fourth annual installment of Bisnow’s DEI Data Series, the industry may still be mostly white and male, but it is also true that its highest ranks have never been so full of women and people of color.

Of course, political winds shift, and CRE is once again being tested.

In June, the Supreme Court voted to strike down the use of affirmative action in college admissions, a decision that has fanned a national movement to tear down corporate DEI programs. The verdict has emboldened corporate leaders who see DEI programs as peripheral — and even antithetical — to the bottom line.

The irony is that diversity is a proven moneymaker. Ethnically diverse companies financially outperform their less diverse competitors by 35%.

Still, the political debate America is having on these lines might be enough to test CRE’s resolve, especially as it contends with another foe: survival.

— Mark F. Bonner, Bisnow Editor-in-Chief