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Sally Hyndman is chief people officer at Soveriegn
What Pride means for a housing association
Fifty years since the first UK Pride, Sally Hyndman reflects on how LGBTQ+ inclusion can be brought into the work of a housing association
Pride month has made me take stock and reflect. So much can be achieved through a single action, an idea, a determination to stand up and make a difference – and we can all play a part in that.
Our ambition at Sovereign has always been to provide good-quality, affordable homes and services, so we must never forget that we’re also a social business. That’s why we’re firmly committed to our fundamental purpose, our customers and the homes they live in.
This comes with the huge responsibility to make sure individual housing needs are not impacted by race, disability or sexual orientation, just as they shouldn’t be limited by socio-economic factors.
We have the same responsibility to our people and colleagues.
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Diversity enriches our experiences as well as our performance and ultimately, what we can do together. So, as a business, we know that to achieve our goals we must do everything we can to create an environment where differences are celebrated, where all our people feel supported and where everyone is valued and respected.
And this is key from the top down – equality, diversity and inclusion is the golden thread that runs through our corporate ambitions. That means that as we develop and refresh our culture and values, it becomes the responsibility of everyone at Sovereign to achieve.
To be a landlord and employer of choice, and have customers and employees who reflect the communities we serve, we all need to commit to continuing the journey we’ve already started.
“Change can come from the smallest of actions. We can all show empathy towards someone, sometimes simply by listening or encouraging them to do something they’re afraid of because it’s not ‘mainstream’”
As a business we’ve done a lot to ensure we’re inclusive of LGBTQ+ people in terms of staff and residents.
And over the past two years we’ve created an LGBTQ+ employee network.
This dedicated and very active group of employees has done a fantastic job supporting our work on LGBTQ+ inclusion by creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people working at Sovereign, raising awareness through podcasts and intranet articles on subjects such as allyship and use of pronouns, and holding events to celebrate LGBT+ History Month, Pride and notable days in the LGBTQ+ calendar such as pansexual, intersex and asexual awareness days.
Support for LGBTQ+ people doesn’t stop in our workplace. We’ve provided funding to projects such as Support U – a leading LGBTQ+ help and support service operating in the Thames Valley/North Hampshire areas – which we gave more than £1,400 funding through The Good Exchange during Pride 2021.
The grant helped Support U to provide counsellors and support advisors to give people access to those services online. It also helped them to build capacity ahead of resuming Support U’s face-to-face services.
I was in a meeting with Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ charity, a few weeks ago and was told that we’re doing some great work but we just need to have more confidence – we need to be bold and have more conviction.
They were still really impressed with the solid foundations we’re building, though, and that’s an absolute credit to each and every one of our people who is behind our aim to support LGBTQ+ people in our communities. So, I hope you’ll join us in celebrating Pride this year.
My final thought was of my mum. She was a woman before her time who taught me from a very early age that everyone is equal and deserves to be treated fairly. She constantly reminded me that we are all different and you can learn a lot from other people’s thoughts and experiences. I still follow that advice to this day, and I think we all can.
“As Pride month gets under way, let’s openly celebrate and encourage everyone to be their authentic selves, so that we can all work in a place that thrives on different perspectives and experiences”
Change can come from the smallest of actions. We can all show empathy towards someone, sometimes simply by listening or encouraging them to do something they’re afraid of because it’s not ‘mainstream’, or it’s considered not to be important to most people.
Showing our support and understanding, even when others won’t commit and we stand on our own, is often the start of great change. That’s how Pride and Stonewall started.
I doubt that Brenda Howard, who started the first Pride protest in New York, knew what a defining moment in history that would be, and how much it would change society and people’s lives. She simply did what she knew was right. I think we can all learn from Brenda, and my mum!
So, at Sovereign we’ll continue to work towards being an organisation that embraces inclusion and belonging, with our people, our customers and our communities.
As Pride month gets under way, let’s openly celebrate and encourage everyone to be their authentic selves, so that we can all work in a place that thrives on different perspectives and experiences.
Happy Pride everyone.
Sally Hyndman, chief people officer, Sovereign
