American Campus Communities’ Board Diversity and Women Leadership
Challenge
Our company and our student communities are defined and strengthened by the belief that every individual and their experience adds value and enhances our position as an industry leader and university partner. This includes diversity among our board members and women’s leadership throughout our company.
Actions
We promote equity and inclusion among all people at our organization and within the communities we serve, because we know that our people are our strength. Having a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives makes our team more innovative. We enhanced our board’s diversity in 2019 by increasing female representation with 40% of independent directors being female. Our Nominating and Governance Committee not only considers gender, age, race and ethnic diversity but also diversity of thought, background and experience. Currently, 49% of our employees are female with 51% of female employees who are minorities.
Outcomes
Over the course of 17 years, our employee development program, Inside Track, has offered intensive training and mentorship for student workers and onsite team members. We are proud to invest in our employees’ futures and since its inception, Inside Track has graduated 393 employees with 74 percent of Inside Track participants having gone on to higher positions within ACC – including 13 participants who are now senior executives (Vice Presidents and above). Specifically, 63 percent of general manager promotions and 61 percent of corporate promotions have been female. Fifty three percent of current VP positions, 44 percent of current regional managers, and 80 percent of current area managers are female as well.
Contact
Gina Cowart
Quote
Our company and our student communities are defined and strengthened by the belief that every individual and their experience adds value and enhances our position as an industry leader and university partner. We take responsibility to intentionally execute an evolving set of goals specific to inclusion, diversity, and accountability, driven by empathetic leadership and embraced by all. We are proud that our team is diverse reflecting the communities we serve across the country and that our company is an industry leader when it comes to women in leadership.