NMHC expands, strengthens its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the multifamily industry

Nation’s leading apartment trade association rolls out new and expanded efforts aimed at advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

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The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) announced new programs and resources dedicated to building on NMHC’s work for the past decade promoting diversity, equity and inclusion as a multifamily business imperative key to innovation and success.

“During my years at the head of NMHC, there has never been work as important and as meaningful as this,” said Doug Bibby, NMHC President. NMHC is committed, for the long-term, to expanding diversity, and furthering equity and inclusion, in our industry.”

“Ten years ago, NMHC formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee spearheaded by industry leaders who have helped guide NMHC’s programming, resource allocation and partnerships over the years,” said Bibby. “Today we are building on our efforts with new initiatives that will support an even more robust program of work around these critical issues.”

  • The NMHC Racial Equity Taskforce, which convened in June 2020, will produce an Industry Framework for advancing economic inclusion for professionals of color within NMHC member organizations and across the multifamily sector. The Industry Framework covers access to capital and credit, supplier diversity in discretionary spending, and the talent ecosystem from early-career professionals to the C-Suite and Boards of Directors. The Industry Framework will be presented during NMHC’s Racial Equity Event on February 25.
  • NMHC will present its first-ever Racial Equity Event on February 25. This live, virtual event featuring Dr. Andre Perry will help inform our understanding of equity and what it means for the multifamily industry.
  • NMHC has signed on as a $100,000 Founding Diversity Partner – CRE Association with the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC). This further strengthens NMHC’s long-standing partnership with REEC and builds on existing collaborative work and shared goals, including NMHC’s Industry Framework. REEC is the leading professional trade association formed to promote the interests of minority executives doing business in the commercial real estate industry. REEC strives to create opportunities for relationship development and access to information that will lead to increased business opportunities between and among members, as well as with majority owned firms.
  • NMHC has engaged The Cee Suite, a Black- and woman-owned talent management consultancy that partners with organizations to help them create high-performing, inclusive and equitable workplaces, to create a new NMHC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Toolkit. The Toolkit, expected to be released this summer, will provide apartment firms with an actionable guide and best practices to help integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into all facets of organizational culture and operations.
  • NMHC has separately engaged Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit that addresses America’s affordable housing crisis from every angle, to produce the NMHC Housing Equity Toolkit. This resource, expected this summer, will identify practices to help the industry advance racial and housing equity in development, construction and property operations, and provide guidance on how to improve economic inclusion in communities across the country.

“I am proud, along with my NMHC colleagues and our members, to be taking a leading role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the multifamily industry,” said Betsy Feigin Befus, NMHC’s General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. “For too long our industry has talked about these issues but hesitated to take real action. The efforts announced today, and additional announcements coming soon, demonstrate our commitment to meaningful progress.”

More information on NMHC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative can be found here.