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Time to act on equality
Editor Emma Maier urges Inside Housing readers to take up the Inclusive Futures challenge and promote greater diversity in the sector
I have yet to meet anyone working in housing who doesn’t agree that diversity is a sector-wide priority.
Leaders recognise the importance of reflecting the communities and tenants they serve, and of providing an environment where all staff thrive. Equality is one of the values that runs through the core of the sector.
Yet more than four decades after the first modern laws on equality in the workplace, Inside Housing’s latest research shows that women, people from BME backgrounds, those with a disability and LGBT people are still under-represented at the most senior levels.
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It isn’t just about doing the right thing. There are volumes of research from institutions such as LSE and McKinsey which show that diverse organisations perform better and staff and service users are happier.
The solutions are well documented, too: the key underlying principle is visibility – both transparently monitoring and evaluating the organisation’s progress in recruiting and promoting from under-represented groups, and providing and championing visible role models.
“We are committing to publishing diversity audits of our own coverage.”
At Inside Housing we recognise that the media has a central role to play. We have a responsibility to reflect the sector and its leadership. We also have a responsibility to champion the breadth of diversity across the sector and the leaders of tomorrow.
That is why we are launching our Inclusive Futures campaign to proactively celebrate diversity and promote inclusion.
We are committing to publishing diversity audits of our own coverage, and to promoting diverse role models. Crucially, we won’t just sit on the sidelines, but will provide practical resources.
One of the most common issues cited by media organisations is difficulty accessing commentators and speakers from under-represented groups, so our new Inclusive Futures Bureau will offer a database of housing professionals from all backgrounds. We will promote the bureau to other publications and events organisers.
Our new BME Leaders List and the Women in Housing Awards will provide a platform for established and up-and-coming leaders. We are pleased to have a growing list of ambassadors signed up to support the campaign objectives and we will be working with them to shape future initiatives.
We invite and encourage readers to join us in taking up the Inclusive Futures challenge. We are asking landlords to take five practical steps to recruit, support and promote from under-represented groups.
To sign up for more information about how you can get involved please click here.
Click here to read more about the campaign, and tweet using the hashtag #InclusiveFutures.
Emma Maier, editor, Inside Housing
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.
