AvalonBay Communities, Inc . (NYSE: AVB) said it has formed a multi-year partnership with the National Urban League, while also setting new company goals to increase diversity in leadership by 2025.
AvalonBay will make a $150,000 commitment in 2021 to the National Urban League. The partnership will be led by the REIT’s Black Associate Coalition (BAC), one of several AvalonBay employee resource groups.
Rukus Esi, SVP, chief digital officer, and BAC leadership sponsor, said AvalonBay will engage associates as well as residents living in its apartment communities across the country “to work with and support the National Urban League’s pursuit of racial equity and justice.”
“AvalonBay is helping to create an economy that is not only more equitable, but more dynamic and robust,” said National Urban League President and CEO, Marc Morial.
AvalonBay has also set goals to increase the diversity of its leadership team to:
- Increase the representation of women in leadership from the current level of 35% to a level at parity with the overall presence of women in the relevant workforce (currently 41%) by 2025.
- Increase under-represented minorities in leadership from the current level of 15% to 20% by 2025 and to 25% by 2030.
AvalonBay said it will seek to meet the goals by broadening recruiting methods and recruiting sources, by training to understand and address everyday biases, and by continuing to develop a diverse group of qualified associates for potential promotion to leadership.
AvalonBay pointed out that it has taken additional steps over the past six months to continue to create and promote an inclusive and diverse workplace, including Chairman and CEO Timothy Naughton joining Nareit’s new Dividends Through Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DDEI) CEO Council.