We need an honest picture of how attitudes to race and immigration are impacting our colleagues

The social housing sector has always been a barometer of society: its pressures, its inequalities, its hopes and its fractures. Public discourse around race, migration and housing has become increasingly divisive. And what the survey asks speaks volumes about what many of us already know: that the sector is grappling not only with rising need, but with rising hostility.

We want to hear from Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff about how this has affected their work and their communities, but also from white staff about their experiences.

“Knowing where we truly are as a sector, as a snapshot of society, helps us to know where we are getting it right and where we need to be doing more”

We have to help people to feel safe sharing these experiences. They ought to feel comfortable sharing that they have experienced discrimination, that they have seen or been told things simply because of the colour of their skin, that they have felt scared.

Even just reading some of the questions, it can feel quite emotional. We want to be a sector and society where nobody, customer or colleague, has these experiences.

Knowing where we truly are as a sector, as a snapshot of society, helps us to know where we are getting it right and where we need to be doing more. I’ve learned that progress in our sector doesn’t just happen by accident. We have to ask uncomfortable questions and confront the answers.

That becomes even more important in today’s landscape. We saw through the protests last year, and in some of the reaction to activist groups recently, that there is growing division within society. At the extremes of that division, there is violence, and some really unsettling beliefs. Much of that has been directed firmly towards people of colour.

It is important we recognise that fear and prejudice do not stop at the front door of our workplaces. Our colleagues are affected all the same, and in a customer-facing industry like housing, they can potentially meet those same attitudes in their professional capacities too.

We are also seeing those attitudes drive further misinformation, in a vicious cycle. You do not have to look too far to find inaccurate and divisive accusations online that all social housing is going to immigrants. 

The survey is right to probe the impact of this persistent myth. It is a narrative repeatedly disproven by data, yet continually weaponised.

“We are living in a time when identity is politicised, migration is weaponised and public services are strained. It is precisely in moments like this that employers should step up”

Working in the housing sector, we know how far from the truth this is, but it does not mean we can afford to be complacent – especially as we head towards council elections where we anticipate a lot of change, with the rise in popularity of parties like Reform UK and the likelihood of a large cohort of issue-led, inexperienced new councillors.

We are living in a time when identity is politicised, migration is weaponised and public services are strained. It is precisely in moments like this that employers should step up – not merely with statements, but with protection, policies and cultural honesty.

There is going to be work involved for us all to help educate people on housing and tackle this misinformation head-on. As well as working to better inform people making decisions for our local communities, tackling misinformation and prejudice is also about ensuring colleagues feel safe and proud of the sector they work in.

I’m incredibly proud of my South Asian heritage, and of being a woman of colour in a senior leadership position in our sector. When we look across the sector, only 7% of UK housing board members are women, and even fewer are women from multicultural backgrounds.

I want to see more people from diverse backgrounds and more women in these roles, but I also want to see us continue to change and improve the culture they are stepping into. It brings me so much pride when I see us getting things right and see the brilliant things we can achieve with a happy, healthy, diverse and inclusive workforce.

For us to know that we are getting things right, we need honest reflection of how narratives around race and immigration are impacting our sector, and what this means for the working lives of our Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues, as well as those from immigrant backgrounds. A workforce that feels safe, respected and valued can better support the customers who need it most.

That is why I would ask all colleagues to answer this survey and answer it honestly. The survey can be completed here.

Nusheen Hussain, executive director for customer and communities, Home Group