CRE Groups Brace For 'Collateral Damage' As DEI Backlash Grows

Commercial real estate organizations focused on underrepresented populations are being squeezed as a growing backlash against DEI initiatives sweeps across corporate America.

The movement, bolstered by federal rollbacks under President Donald Trump, has led to the widespread dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

From Harley-Davidson to Disney to PBS, scores of companies across the country have scaled back or erased their DEI efforts under mounting political and shareholder pressure.

In CRE, the reckoning is accelerating, driven by economic headwinds that have made DEI roles and programs some of the first on the chopping block. Industry groups are feeling the strain and, in some cases, fearing for their members.

“A lot is going to get rolled back and be in jeopardy, and some of the strides that we've made to move forward are unfortunately going to turn back,” said Cindy MacMillan, president of Commercial Real Estate Women Network, or CREW, which has 14,000 members globally. 

This moment when DEI is losing ground has underscored the importance of these organizations, including the affinity and career advancement they support and the business case for more engagement with underrepresented pools of CRE talent and potential clients, according to leaders in the space.

“We all expect there’s going to be some collateral damage in the short run, because I think a lot of companies are going to overreact,” National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, or NAHREP, co-founder and CEO Gary Acosta said. 

Part of the shock around the string of executive orders from the White House around rolling back and eliminating DEI is that one of the stated goals, meritocracy, is shared by DEI supporters. In Acosta’s view, the ultimate goal of DEI is eliminating artificial barriers to make sure the best can rise to the top.

“If you say DEI is all about giving minority groups and people from what I call historically disadvantaged segments of our population jobs that they're not qualified to have, well, I don't think anybody is for that,” he said.  

Commercial real estate hasn’t lived up to its own promises around advancing diversity in hiring and executive leadership. As Bisnow’s most recent reporting has shown, “The push to increase representation at real estate companies seemed to take a back seat,” and “C-suites at 100 of the largest companies remain more than 85% white and over 70% male.” 

The push against diversity programs will strain talent development in colleges and universities, disrupt talent pipelines and strain career development and mentorships for many.

“There is a sentiment of fear and uncertainty, and I think it would be fair to say that many people are worried about their careers or their role for a variety of reasons, and DEI would be one of them,” MacMillan said.

The recent acceleration of this anti-DEI shift has left many professionals anxious and angry. Justin Ziegler, president and board chair of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, which boasts 4,000 members, said the transgender and nonbinary members of his organization are “frankly very fearful for, ultimately, what place they're going to have in America at this point.”

“We're a real estate organization, but we definitely have some people that have been so affected by this that it would not surprise me if here in the near future, one of these leaders is going to need a resource to refer people who are suicidal,” he said.

Ziegler’s group has sponsors dropping out, which will curtail group spending on events such as the national convention and policy symposium.

“The president and folks around the president making these jabs at DEI make it a very convenient time for these companies to conveniently reduce the dollar spend that they have in these areas, because I think it's become a lot more socially acceptable not to publicly support DEI programs,” he said.

CREW sponsors are also dropping out, and companies have refused to reimburse employees for membership fees this year. 

“Companies are scaling back on DEI, and some frame CREW as just a DEI org,” MacMillan said.

The current environment has put a lot of companies and organizations in tough positions, especially public companies beholden to shareholders or government contractors, Acosta said.

“I have a lot of compassion for what companies are having to deal with right now,” he said. “I totally understand the situation that they're in, especially if you're a government contractor or you do any work with the federal government. They’re in a tougher spot, and they have to make it work.”

NAHREP, which has 58,000 members, isn’t changing things from a fundamental standpoint, including its activities, initiatives or mission statement, Acosta said. But it does plan to revisit certain language around diversity in the industry and why it is important.

For instance, language about increasing Latino homeownership will reinforce the notion that it is key to make sure that portion of the market is served and that it is an effort to support the overall well-being of the economy and the country.

“If our language is sort of implying that we're pitting one group or prioritizing one group over another, then we need to address that, because it shouldn't do that and it should never have done that, in my view,” he said. “It opened the door for criticism, and we need to fix that.”

CREW plans to “continue to do everything that we have done,” and it will be watching things closely to add extra support and resources for members who are suffering or feeling the impact greater than others, MacMillan said.

“We're not putting blinders on and marching forward and just saying whatever happens is fine,” she said. “We are absolutely paying attention to what is happening, and we'll pivot and adjust our strategy as needed, again, to support women.”

Acosta said the anti-DEI push obscures the fact that better understanding different demographics, whether it is about recruiting talent or finding new customers, makes business sense. There are strong business arguments in favor of being strategic and seeking new niches. Not doing so can mean ceding market share to other companies. 

“The Trump presidential campaign spent more money on Spanish-language campaign ads than any other presidential campaign in U.S. history, so clearly they understand the importance of this market,” he said. “Companies are no different in that regard.”