In the summer of 2020, a wave of civil rights protests took off in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. Protesters were marching not only against police brutality, they were also demanding a more equal and inclusive world—and commercial real estate leaders heeded the call. Companies have since committed to diversity, launching internal DEI platforms and setting benchmarks to achieve goals, not just talk about them.

For women, the topic of diversity in the commercial real estate industry has been a decades-long conversation, and in that time a lot has changed. Women now have a seat at the table, but female leaders agree that there is still work to be done to achieve true gender diversity. We talked to some of those leaders to find out how far the industry has come, the issues that still need to be addressed and how industry leaders are responding.

BIG STEPS FORWARD

Women have long been making strides toward equality in the industry, and in many ways, women are reaping the rewards today for those early efforts. The biggest step forward has been the presence of women in leadership positions, and those women are helping to pull up the next generation. "Throughout the course of my career I've seen women take a more prominent role in CRE as vice presidents, presidents, COOs and CFOs," says Kim Masayko, SVP of operations at Brixton Capital. "I was fortunate enough to witness this firsthand during my time at Regency Centers when Mary Lou Fiala took the role of president and then eventually, Lisa Palmer took a seat as Regency's CFO and president. For a young woman starting off in commercial real estate, it was an inspirational time."