SAN DIEGO—D&I—shorthand for diversity and inclusion—is not just the politically correct thing to do anymore; these days, CRE capital is following companies that have strong diversity and inclusion policies that result in a fairer playing field for all, said G. Joyce Rowland, SVP and chief human-resources and administrative officer for Sempra Energy, said during last week's BMC event here. Part of the BMC Dialogue Series presented by Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego School of Business, “Unconscious Bias in the Workplace” included a presentation by Rowland on her company's journey to diversity and inclusion.

The transition into a diverse and inclusive company doesn't happen overnight—it's a process. Rowland said to build a truly diverse environment, you have to commit to the long game. “Diversity is part of our value statement … to embrace diversity of people and perspective.”

One of the pitfalls of the way businesspeople currently make decisions is backing ourselves into the reasons for those decisions instead of examining the facts without a predetermined decision in mind. “We think we're much more rational than we are,” said Rowland, and we use our unconscious bias to create shortcuts that lead to quick decision making.

But lack of diversity has far-reaching implications—it's not just whom you hire, but whom you develop. And these decisions affect not only the operations and safety of your firm, but whether or not it is successful. “Companies that are diverse and inclusive perform better,” said Rowland. Employees are more likely to stay at a firm that has these attributes, so retention figures are better, too.

For Sempra, a global company, the firm worked on creating a more diverse and inclusive board of directors, which is now 38% female, 38% people of color and 31% white males. It also focused on including more people of color in upper management and even supplier diversity, with the ultimate goal of “creating a just society.” The firm has also made a big effort around veterans and has an executive commitment to diversity and inclusion that extends to customers.

An important point of focus for the firm is that “diversity is the whole—everyone is included,” even you, said Rowland. People tend to modify something about themselves at work in order to be accepted, but diversity tries to break that down.

Sempra has an annual D&I Summit that both educates and celebrates diversity and inclusion. Rowland said that structure is important in promoting D&I, even if you're a smaller organization, and it's important to train management on specific D&I topics and then have them go out and deliver that to staff rather than having it come from an outside source. Sempra offers an implicit-bias course and does a lot of work locally with charitable organizations to expose employees to diverse ways of life. Officer storytelling is another effective method of sharing different experiences and creating inclusion.

Ultimately, Rowland said, what makes D&I relevant to everyone is that many investors today consider a company's commitment to these values when making decisions about where and how to invest. That's reason enough to work toward diversity and inclusion at your company.

Instant Insights /

Investors Are Prioritizing Diversity and Inclusion

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