Working in commercial real estate, for many, is like fulfilling a dream. Helping bring a building or portfolio of projects to life is something many only dream about. Having the opportunity to lead such an effort and see it succeed and generate income, unfortunately for some, remains a dream out of reach.

Hispanic representation in CRE and the real estate investment industry, for example, continues to be extremely low. One 2013 study1 showed that nearly 80 percent of all seniorlevel executive positions are held by White men, followed by White women (14.1 percent), Hispanic men (2.9 percent), Black Men (1.3 percent), and Asian men (1.6 percent).

Sadly, little has changed since then. In a recent Fast Company2 article, Ken McIntyre, CEO of the Real Estate Executive Council, a trade association for commercial real estate professionals of color, noted that 30 years ago when he joined the industry, the barrier to entry was very high. Rarely did you see people of color at that time. He added, “It’s still rare, but it was even rarer 30 years ago.” McIntyre goes on to say that our industry needs to get better at promoting itself, “especially to young people who may have no exposure to anyone working in real estate.”