You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Sector’s action on diversity and inclusion has been ‘piecemeal’, says NHF
The social housing sector’s commitment to improve diversity, equality and inclusion has been “piecemeal or time-limited”, according to the National Housing Federation (NHF).
The NHF’s new report out today, Equality, diversity and inclusion in housing association staff in England, called for greater leadership to tackle a lack of diversity in the workforce.
The organisation, which has nearly 800 housing association members, argued that association workforces are not always representative of those living in social housing.
It cited English Housing Survey (EHS) data which that showed 59.3% of household reference persons (who fills in the survey) were women, compared with 40.9% of the wider population. But the NHF highlighted Inside Housing research from 2019 which found that women were underrepresented at both board and executive level (41.1% and 39.7%) within housing associations.
READ MORE
“We have seen diversity, equality and inclusion as a project rather than an organisational value that should be embedded into company culture and policies,” the NHF said.
“If we are to address the great challenges around inequality and discrimination, then greater sector leadership is required.”
Schemes launched by associations to assess diversity and inclusion are often small-scale and time-limited projects, the organisation added.
The NHF commissioned the Housing Diversity Network (HDN) to carry out an insight review into the topic and found limited data available for protected characteristics such as age, marital status, maternity/pregnancy and religion. The review also found there is almost no sector data showing staff diversity at junior levels.
In response, the NHF said it will be working to provide a sector-wide picture of diversity of workforces and how this compares with the demographics of the areas in which they operate. The federation is calling on all its members to be open in with their data.
The NHF said: “We’re calling for the sector to show leadership around ensuring a diverse, inclusive and equal workforce. This must start with open, honest conversations within housing associations about the apparent lack of equality, diversity and inclusion throughout much of our sector.”
