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Housing needs to prepare for the future, and that means ‘thinking young’
The average age of a housing association board member is upwards of 57. David Levenson and Ruth Sacks make the case for attracting younger talent
“Diversity of age is so important,” replied Molly Bishop in response to a tweet by Raising Roofs about getting younger people onto housing association boards. Molly is absolutely right – if you want better diversity in leadership, start by engaging with the future leaders.
If you haven’t heard of Molly, then you haven’t got your finger on the pulse. She is the charity support and development officer for Stockport Homes and the National Housing Federation’s young leader and ambassador for 2017/18. Molly is a high-profile millennial; she and many other rising leaders represent the future of social housing.
“Molly is a high-profile millennial; she and many other rising leaders represent the future of social housing.”
What chance do they have of getting all the way to the top table and becoming tomorrow’s chairs of housing association boards? Based on results of recent surveys the answer is: it’s a long shot.
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In 2016, 100 housing associations responded to Inside Housing’s diversity questionnaire. The results were mixed across all categories. Terrie Alafat, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said at the time: “We know from our own research that as a sector, housing is actually more diverse than average… But at the top of our organisations, in our boards and senior teams, it’s a different story.”
“One of the most striking, yet least commented upon statistics revealed by the survey was that only four board members were aged under 30.”
One of the most striking, yet least commented upon statistics revealed by the survey was that only four board members were aged under 30. Twenty-one board members were under the age of 40, just 2% of the boards whose association had responded. At the same time, the average age of board members was 57. Today this is estimated to be even higher.
Diversity of age is not only important, as Molly says, it has also become an urgent priority for many boards. Furthermore, there is a clear correlation between the age statistics and lack of diversity on boards. In its January 2018 diversity survey, Inside Housing reported that at least 18 out of 64 landlords had all-white, all-male boards. Encouraging and promoting age diversity will have a positive impact on the composition of boards.
Raising Roofs, the board development programme for the housing sector, is committed to promoting the need for increased opportunities for talented housing leaders of the future to participate at governance level.
“We are calling upon every social landlord to commit to recruiting at least one board member under the age of 35 by 2020.”
We are calling upon every social landlord to commit to recruiting at least one board member under the age of 35 by 2020. We know this will initiate a change in attitudes in governance across the housing sector and begin to transform culture.
Our proposal requires no grand plan and will cost nothing to implement.
The intergenerational challenges which are built into the housing market have resulted in more young people than ever defined as being in housing need. Their views and aspirations need to be properly represented.
Twelve talented future leaders from housing associations across the country are midway through the first Raising Roofs programme. We will soon be opening the application process to join Raising Roofs No.2 starting in January 2019.
Our expectation is that the new crop of board-ready housing leaders will start to change how housing associations are governed.
David Levenson and Ruth Sacks are co-founders of Raising Roofs
What is Raising Roofs?
Raising Roofs was co-founded and created by trainers Dr Ruth Sacks and David Levenson to coach the board members of the future.
Raising Roofs has a bursary scheme which is sponsored by the National Housing Federation and Winckworth Sherwood.
Bursaries are available with preference being given to participants from small organisations and/or working in challenging situations.
Raising Roofs begins on April 24 and will be facilitated by experienced figures from within and outside the housing sector, who will lead workshops on six days over a six-month period.
Among those who have agreed to run sessions for Raising Roofs are Geeta Nanda, chief executive of Metropolitan, Ann Santry, chief executive of Sovereign, Sheron Carter, chief executive of Habineg, Tony Stacey, chief executive of South Yorkshire Housing Association, Richard Petty, director, JLL, and Andrew Murray, lead social housing partner at Winckworth Sherwood.
Inclusive Futures
Inside Housing’s Inclusive Futures campaign aims to promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion.
We are pledging to publish diversity audits of our own coverage.
We are also committed to proactively promoting positive role models.
We will do this through the pages of Inside Housing. But we will also seek to support other publications and events organisations to be more inclusive.
Our Inclusive Futures Bureau will provide a database of speakers and commentators from all backgrounds, for use by all media organisations.
We are also challenging readers to take five clear steps to promote diversity, informed by the Chartered Institute of Housing’s diversity commission and the Leadership 2025 project.
