Bacon said when he worked for Fannie Mae, it was about getting the best people and giving them the opportunity to really shine. “Everybody has a bias, but at the end of the day,” we should overcome these in finding talent. He said it may be hard for women, especially, to be assertive without being thought of in a negative way. “It's about wanting to have the best talent.”

Bacon also said diversity is not easy to manage or mandate from the corporate level, but from a leadership perspective, you need to state engaged with your team about diversity and inclusion. “It's not just checking a box, but rolling up your sleeves and encouraging social accountability for your people.”

Baker said diversity and inclusion starts at the top, and in the best companies, people are not afraid to speak their mind and know they will be rewarded for bringing value to the company. Smith said that is true, but the CEO needs to communicate diversity down the ranks and have policies and programs that support diversity like paid family leave. “We have to become very competent about serving employees' needs, especially with four generations working together. We are learning from our employees what we need to know about the constituencies we serve.”

Bacon said many times we let gender and ethnicity get in the way of communicating, but if you feel safe to express to express feedback, you won't have that. He also pointed out that not enough minorities are wanting to go into real estate at the present time, so he created a program that identifies minorities and exposes them to real estate at the high school level. He also endowed a scholarship to minorities at the Wharton School and has informally tried to reach out to people about opportunities in real estate. More than 50% of Stanford students are minorities, and the percentage is rising, so it's wise to target this audience.

Mitch Harrison, CEO of First Communities and chairman of the Georgia Apartment Industry Foundation, said the Stanford stat “gives me hope.” Baker said it's important to meet students as freshmen and sophomores in high school to expose them to real estate, and Harrison added, “We have to think outside of the four-year college. We need to get in front of people at the technical-college and community-college levels. Multiple industries are represented at career academies.”

Panel recommendations for minorities looking to get ahead at their company include finding somebody they can connect with at their company to sponsor them. The consensus was that bias is inherent in any organization, so they must admit to this in order to counteract it.

SAN DIEGO—Everybody has a bias, but we need to overcome them if we're hoping to find and retain good talent, Ken Bacon, managing partner of RailField Realty Partners and vice chairman of the Real Estate Executive Council, told attendees at Wednesday's NMHC Annual Meeting. The session “An Imperative for Future Business Success: Walking the Talk on Diversity & Inclusion” revealed the reasons why having enforced policies on diversity and inclusion is the best way to make them work.

“People don't realize that there are biases in their company—unconscious biases—that are reflexes. You go to what worked in the past,” said Laurie Baker, SVP of Camden Property Trust and immediate past president of Commercial Real Estate Women Network.

Julie Smith, chief administration officer for the Bozzuto Group and chair of the NMHC diversity and inclusion committee, said every industry needs to worry about diversity and inclusion. “In the next few years, we will have four generations working together in our companies: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z. All women are hugely important; it's all about people.”

Smith said her firm is also dealing with transgender issues, as well. “We need to reflect the communities we're serving.” She added that women will control $6 trillion of all wealth in the next five years, so we need to pay attention to this gender.

Bacon said when he worked for Fannie Mae, it was about getting the best people and giving them the opportunity to really shine. “Everybody has a bias, but at the end of the day,” we should overcome these in finding talent. He said it may be hard for women, especially, to be assertive without being thought of in a negative way. “It's about wanting to have the best talent.”

Bacon also said diversity is not easy to manage or mandate from the corporate level, but from a leadership perspective, you need to state engaged with your team about diversity and inclusion. “It's not just checking a box, but rolling up your sleeves and encouraging social accountability for your people.”

Baker said diversity and inclusion starts at the top, and in the best companies, people are not afraid to speak their mind and know they will be rewarded for bringing value to the company. Smith said that is true, but the CEO needs to communicate diversity down the ranks and have policies and programs that support diversity like paid family leave. “We have to become very competent about serving employees' needs, especially with four generations working together. We are learning from our employees what we need to know about the constituencies we serve.”

Bacon said many times we let gender and ethnicity get in the way of communicating, but if you feel safe to express to express feedback, you won't have that. He also pointed out that not enough minorities are wanting to go into real estate at the present time, so he created a program that identifies minorities and exposes them to real estate at the high school level. He also endowed a scholarship to minorities at the Wharton School and has informally tried to reach out to people about opportunities in real estate. More than 50% of Stanford students are minorities, and the percentage is rising, so it's wise to target this audience.

Mitch Harrison, CEO of First Communities and chairman of the Georgia Apartment Industry Foundation, said the Stanford stat “gives me hope.” Baker said it's important to meet students as freshmen and sophomores in high school to expose them to real estate, and Harrison added, “We have to think outside of the four-year college. We need to get in front of people at the technical-college and community-college levels. Multiple industries are represented at career academies.”

Panel recommendations for minorities looking to get ahead at their company include finding somebody they can connect with at their company to sponsor them. The consensus was that bias is inherent in any organization, so they must admit to this in order to counteract it.