Reflecting the seismic shift on race relations that swept across the nation this summer, Ferguson Partners expanded its annual study of diversity at REITs this year to include an evaluation of how much Black leadership can be found in executive suites and on boards.
Presented in a new report, the research shows there's work to be done. About 3.7% of all REIT boards included in the study were led by Black directors. A slight improvement was seen on S&P 500 REIT boards, where approximately 4.9% of directors were black. However, over the past 12 months, just one new Black director was hired across all S&P 500 REITs.
Written by Jeremy I. Banoff, executive chairman of Ferguson, the third annual report also once again studied gender diversity at REITs. For the third straight year, half of newly elected, non-employee REIT directors were female, prompting Banoff to declare the parity "a long-term trend" in "2020 REIT Diversity Across Boards and Executives."
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
