Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Self-Storage

In today’s contentious political environment, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have taken a hit, particularly in corporate and higher-education settings. But that hasn’t deterred some self-storage operators from continuing to incorporate DEI—or at least elements of it—into their workplace cultures.

A 2024 survey by the Pew Research Center found a higher share of workers thought promoting DEI in the workplace was mostly a bad idea compared with 2023. And a greater share believed their employers were too focused on these efforts. This increasingly thumbs-down sentiment has seeped into the leadership ranks of many employers. In response to federal mandates issued this year, many colleges and universities have eliminated or downplayed their policies, and major companies like Ford, Target, Toyota and Wells Fargo have de-emphasized DEI.

It’s tough to gauge where self-storage businesses stand on the topic, though. DEI adoption is “a mixed bag,” with some companies some still embracing it, says Robert Barge, a 14-year veteran of the industry and senior vice president of operations for Store Space Self Storage, which operates nearly 100 facilities nationwide. Others might not put much, if any, stock in it.

The Self Storage Association doesn’t explicitly mention DEI on its website. However, its Code of Ethics states that self-storage space and services should be offered “without regard to religion, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or disability.” The code also says that facility operators should advocate for “a highly diverse, best-in-class workforce.”

Employers should go above and beyond this, according to Pamela Alton, founder and CEO of self-storage recruiting firm Mini-Management Services. “If you do not have a DEI program at your company, now would be a great time to investigate the steps needed to put one in place, and work with your human resources department to make hiring an equal and equitable practice,” she says.

Treating Everybody With Respect

Store Space is one self-storage employer that champions a DEI-friendly workforce. Employing about 200 people and overseeing more than 90 facilities, the operator seeks to create a culture in which everybody, from the CEO to the janitor, is treated “with a very high degree of respect,” Barge says.

When it comes to hiring, Store Space ignores factors such as race and gender. It’s also obvious when someone visits the company’s headquarters in Winter Garden, Florida, that a diverse group of people work there, Barge says. He admits that he’s been paying attention to the buzz and White House actions swirling around DEI and understands it’s a sensitive topic. “But I believe very strongly that all people are created equal,” he says.

That belief permeates the Storage Space culture, including its hiring practices. “What really matters to me is that we get the best person who’s going to join a winning culture where we have a very polite, courteous, professional and healthy work environment together,” Barge says. A paycheck is the minimum the company can provide to make employees feel valued. Staff should want to work there because they’re appreciated and praised for “doing an above-and-beyond job,” he adds.

To help ensure Store Space is fostering a healthy culture for employees, the company is launching regular anonymous workplace surveys. In addition, though it doesn’t highlight DEI per se, the training program promotes core values such as kindness, courtesy and respect.

Giving Everyone a Fair Shot

Like Store Space, self-storage management company Atomic Storage Group folds DEI into everyday operations. It doesn’t treat it as a separate program. Instead, “it’s part of how we run HR,” says Brandi Tweedy, the company’s director of HR.

In adhering to this mentality, Atomic has created pay bands, and standardized job descriptions and workplace policies that apply evenly to all employees. “For me, it’s about fairness,” Tweedy says. “When systems are set up to be bias-free, people know they’re on equal footing from day one.”

Even if the term “DEI” might be overused, the principles underlying it—fairness, equity and belonging—remain critical, Tweedy says. They apply to the nearly 60 employees and almost 80 contractors who work at the 140-plus facilities managed by Atomic, its corporate headquarters and remote call center.

“From a legal standpoint, federal and state laws require us to provide equal opportunity,” Tweedy says. “From a business standpoint, people stay longer when they feel respected and treated fairly. You don’t need a flashy program, but you do need practices that make fairness real.”

However, those practices don’t include hiring quotas, Tweedy says, as these can put a company at risk for legal action. DEI sometimes gets confused with quotas or preferential treatment, she explains.

“What I do believe in is creating a hiring process that gives everyone a fair shot,” Tweedy says. “That means neutral job postings, structured interviews and training managers to recognize bias. If you focus on qualifications and remove barriers, the best candidates rise to the top naturally.”

Tweedy doesn’t believe in DEI-targeted employee training. Rather, the company should help supervisors spot biases in hiring or show leaders how to fairly carry out policies. This kind of session resonates with staff because they can see how the training relates to their jobs, she says.

All of Atomic’s initiatives contribute to lower turnover, better engagement and a culture of trust. But despite those benefits, Tweedy says DEI runs the risk of being reduced to politics or treated like a box to check. “That can create division instead of inclusion. But if you take it back to the basics—fairness, equal opportunity, compliance—there aren’t really negatives. It’s simply good HR practice,” she notes.

The Stance of the REITs

The four major self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs) aren’t precisely on the same page when it comes to DEI, though they all publish similar sentiments on their websites and in their public reports. None could be reached for direct comment on the topic.

CubeSmart. The company’s most recent sustainability report contains two pages on DEI in which it states, “At CubeSmart, we believe celebrating and supporting diverse perspectives makes our business better. To that end, we’ve built a culture of inclusion and collaboration where every teammate can feel comfortable bringing their unique backgrounds and attributes to work every day with the goal of us all coming together.”

The report goes on to lay out policies that underpin CubeSmart’s DEI strategy, including a policy on equal employment, and one on diversity and unconscious bias training. It also devotes a page to statistics about gender, age, racial and ethnic diversity. As of December 2023, 44.7% of employees fit into the category for racial and ethnic diversity, and up to 66% belonged to the category for gender diversity, with separate percentages assigned to three job types.

Extra Space Storage Inc. The company’s 2024 annual report doesn’t mention DEI, but it does state that the company “focuses on building a diverse and talented workforce” through training, development and career-planning programs.

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT). NSAT states on the corporate-responsibility section of its website that promotion of diversity is “a key part” of how it operates its business. It reports that 63% of employees are women and 32% identify as racially or ethnically diverse. Though the REIT’s most recent corporate-responsibility report doesn’t mention DEI, NSAT was listed as a supporter of the Nareit Foundation’s charitable DEI campaign in 2022.

Public Storage Inc. The REIT promoted a “diverse and welcoming” environment for its 5,900 employees as of December 2024. In its annual report, under the heading “Inclusive Culture,” it states, “We are committed to creating a workplace that values people with a wide range of backgrounds, where every employee feels valued and able to be their authentic self as part of our best-in-class team.”

The report also says the company hires based on skills, personality and experience, and disregards age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and other legally protected characteristics in hiring decisions. “Our commitments to excellence and hiring ‘the best’ have fostered an inclusive team that reflects the diversity of the customers we serve,” it states, though it doesn’t mention DEI outright.

In a 2023 blog post, Public Storage reported that 53% of its employees were people of color and 70% were women. It quoted company CEO Joe Russell as saying the company’s workers “are united in one common goal: Creating a diverse and inclusive environment within our organization where we support one another.”

Incorporating DEI

To reiterate Barge’s comment, DEI in the self-storage industry is a mixed bag. If the “bag” at your business contains these initiatives and you’d like to improve or you want to introduce them, how should you go about it?

Whether or not you’ve got some sort of program in place, Barge stresses that every employee should be treated with respect. “Embrace your people. Listen to them,” he advises.

Adopting DEI principles in the workplace means making sure employees feel valued and respected and offering equal opportunities for career growth and advancement, Alton notes. In addition, it involves evaluating your recruitment and hiring practices “to ensure they’re equitable for all,” she says.

“While a lot of DEI work falls under HR, a lot of it doesn’t,” Alton adds. “In order for most companies to reach their full potential, DEI must be its own business function. When DEI is its own function, it interacts with every other business unit.”

Regardless of where DEI falls within your organization, your policies should outline a commitment to its principles in the workplace. However, your business structure shouldn’t lead to race-based hiring quotas and preferences, Alton warns. “Employers should focus on fair and inclusive hiring practices rather than race-conscious decision-making,” she says.

When it comes to nurturing employees from various backgrounds, diversity training can help prevent discrimination and harassment “by making employees more capable of empathy,” Alton says. “While mandatory diversity training has many advantages, it is not without criticism. Some employees may feel resentful or disengaged if training is poorly designed or perceived as performative.”

Though DEI is designed to discourage discrimination and harassment, it can also spur legal concerns. For instance, an employee might sue your self-storage business if they think these policies and practices favor certain legally protected groups over others, create a hostile work environment, or cause retaliation against employees who speak out against workplace discrimination, Alton says.

Despite the potential for DEI initiatives to provoke legal action, they can improve employee engagement and morale, which are vital to self-storage productivity and retention, Alton adds. They also can help attract a more diverse pool of talent. However, these programs can trigger negative effects, such as reinforcing workplace discrimination and increasing the risk of job turnover.

Regardless of any drawbacks, there are many self-storage professionals who believe the positives of DEI overshadow the negatives. “Bringing together different voices isn’t just good for culture; it’s good for problem-solving,” Alton says. “Diverse teams are less prone to group thinking and more likely to find fresh, creative solutions.”

John Egan is an Austin, Texas-based freelance writer and content-marketing strategist who specializes in real estate, personal finance, and health and wellness. He’s the former editor-in-chief at SpareFoot (now Storable) and the author of “The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing.” His work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Forbes Advisor, Investopedia, Nareit, Wealth Management, Urban Land magazine and U.S. News & World Report. To contact him, visit https://johnegan.net.

About the Author

John Egan

Freelance Writer

John Egan is an Austin, Texas-based freelance writer and content-marketing strategist who specializes in health and wellness, personal finance and real estate. He’s the former editor-in-chief for SpareFoot (now owned by Storable) and the author of “The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing.” His work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Forbes Advisor, Investopedia, Nareit, Urban Land, U.S. News & World Report and Wealth Management. To contact him, visit https://johnegan.net.

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