A Virginia Beach-based real estate development firm is pledging to take action and be held accountable for advancing women and diversity, equity and inclusion in the commercial real estate industry.
Breeden Co. Chief Executive Officer Tim Faulkner signed on to join Commercial Real Estate Women Network’s CRE Pledge for Action, a leadership-driven effort.
“It is important to me that we, as an organization, build a culture of diversity and inclusion that benefits employees individually and our company, as a whole,” Faulkner said in a company announcement.
The Breeden Co. said it’s committing to adopt six goals, including partnering with the network in its mission to start efforts now; closing the compensation gap by conducting a pay equity study; increasing inclusion of women and individuals in underrepresented groups through senior executive sponsorship; advancing women to top roles; intentionally recruiting and hiring from diverse background; and measuring progress.
While research shows diverse teams and inclusive workplaces lead to stronger business outcomes, the commercial real estate industry has a workforce that remains predominantly male and white with little progress being made in the past five years, according to CREW Network, the leading producer of research on gender and diversity in commercial real estate.
The “2020 CREW Network Benchmark Study: Gender and Diversity in Commercial Real Estate,” conducted in partnership with the MIT Center for Real Estate, found that women occupy 37% of the industry, hold just 9% of C-suite positions and make 10% less than men in base salaries and 56% less in commission and bonuses annually. The study found only 16% of commercial real estate workplaces have 25% or more staff that are from diverse backgrounds.
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