Real estate companies ditch DEI

Real estate companies are making sure the words “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion” do not appear next to each other in public filings. 

More than a dozen publicly traded firms that had dedicated sections about DEI in last year’s annual reports removed that language in Securities Exchange Commission filings this year. Some swapped diversity lingo for words like “culture” or “workforce,” modifying sections to express that the company values diverse viewpoints or inclusivity in the workplace, while others eliminated once-robust sections bragging about their efforts — but didn’t replace them. 

The changes coincide with a major political aboutface on DEI.

President Donald Trump began targeting DEI initiatives on his first day in office. He issued one executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate all DEI programs, policies and positions. Another requires institutions receiving federal grants or contracts to certify that they do not “operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.” The orders also go after the private sector, instructing federal agencies to identify up to nine potential investigations into public companies, large nonprofits and others related to their DEI practices. 

The Real Deal reviewed 20 public commercial and residential real estate companies with DEI language in their reports. Of those, 15 added or ramped up DEI language in their annual reports after the death of George Floyd in 2020 only to remove it by 2025. Of these, at least two had already reduced or amended the sections in 2024 before eliminating them completely. (Corporations across sectors similarly disposed of their DEI policies, several reports revealed.) It is unclear whether any of these efforts are continuing despite the changes to the reports.

After Floyd was killed, several real estate companies publicly pledged to encourage diversity within their ranks and in the C-suites. TRD’s review included companies that previously disclosed DEI programs. 

In its 2020 annual report, released in February 2021, BXP, formerly Boston Properties, indicated that it took “concrete steps to formalize and elevate our focus on diversity and equity within our company and in the communities we serve.” The company pointed to the creation of a Diversity & Inclusion Committee that year, describing its mission as “promoting diversity, inclusion, equality and transparency as part of our culture, business activities and decision-making practices.” 

The report released in 2024 included graphics detailing the makeup of the company’s workforce as of 2023, showing that 62 percent of its total workforce is white, 10 percent Black, 10 percent Hispanic, 8 percent Asian and 10 percent other. 

The annual report released this year does not include the “Diversity & Inclusion” section that appeared in reports published over the last four years. Neither of those words appear in reference to BXP’s employees. Instead, the report notes that its policy “has been, and will continue to be” hiring without regard to race, sex, gender identity, disability or any other protected status. 

“Our hiring practices do not, and have not, included quotas or numerical targets based on any of these characteristics,” the report states. 

Vornado Realty Trust similarly added a diversity and inclusion section to its annual report in 2022 and published employee demographic data. Both disappeared from the report filed in 2025. DEI-related sections were eliminated from annual reports filed this year by several commercial brokerages, including JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE and Newmark. 

Most of the real estate companies whose reports TRD reviewed did not respond to requests seeking information on why they eliminated diversity-related sections from their fillings. Timing of the removal of the language suggests that the threat of losing federal contracts or grants, or potentially being investigated, may have contributed to the decisions. A representative for Marcus & Millichap indicated that the removal of its DEI section was not related to the Trump administration’s orders but would not explain the reasons for the change. 

Vornado, Newmark and Cushman declined to comment. A person familiar with the reasons for the changes to Newmark’s annual report this year suggested the “Employee Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity” section was deleted as part of a broader slimming down of the “Human Capital Management” portion of the report, though they couldn’t specify what else had been eliminated. Newmark’s website still features a diversity and inclusion policy.  

Trump’s order “escalated” a risk that was already there, according to Andrew Turnbull, an attorney with Morrison Foerster who co-chairs a task force dedicated to DEI strategy and defense at the firm. The 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action policies at colleges and universities had opened the door to legal challenges to DEI programs at corporations, and some companies began scaling back their DEI initiatives before the Trump administration’s actions. 

Empire State Realty Trust added a “Diversity & Inclusion” section in its annual report released in 2021, which disappeared from its annual report in 2024. That report still spoke about the importance of its “diverse workforce.” 

“We strive to attract, hire and retain diverse candidates who meet our high standards,” the report released in 2024 states. 

That language, however, was removed from the report filed in February 2025. 

Real estate companies, of course, are not alone in changing their diversity and inclusion policies after the Trump administration’s actions. The number of S&P 500 companies that used “diversity, equity and inclusion” language in their public filings so far this year has dropped nearly 60 percent from 2024, according to an analysis by the New York Times.  

Turnbull said some companies may have gotten out over their skis with DEI programs, referring to fellowships, internships or hiring targets based on race or gender as high-risk. Still, he advised against wholesale elimination of such initiatives.

“If they just go in and haphazardly strike their DEI stuff, it could send the wrong message to their employees, and stakeholders,” Turnbull said. “It can have reputational risks if you roll back too far.”