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The usual suspects? We scrutinise the appointment of a new generation of chief executives

The ‘old guard’ of chief executives are leaving the sector – but are housing associations making the most of the opportunity to improve inclusivity and diversity among their replacements? Carl Brown finds out. Illustration by Stephen Collins

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Our comprehensive analysis of CEO appointments since 2015 reveals just how much work #ukhousing has do on diversity #InclusiveFutures

Nine out of 34 CEO appointments at large housing associations since 2015 are women and just two are BME #ukhousing #InclusiveFutures

"The window of opportunity created by the old guard retiring is closing" We look at whether the #ukhousing sector has used the recent spate of CEO retirements to increase inclusivity #InclusiveFutures

The usual suspects? We scrutinise the appointment of a new generation of chief executives

Inside Housing’s Inclusive Futures campaign aims to promote diversity and inclusion among housing’s leadership teams

 

 

 

The contact books of journalists who have been covering the housing sector for a few years are likely to be a little out of date these days.

The last few years have seen a huge number of chief executives of large housing associations standing down or retiring.

The turnover of chief executives in the biggest 100 housing associations has been gathering pace for some years.

Twenty-one appointed a new chief executive in the three years from 2006 to 2010. From 2011 to 2014 it was 23. In the last three years, from January 2015 to today, there have been 34.

And this 34 figure doesn’t include a further 11 appointments where new organisations formed out of mergers have retained the chief executives of one of their predecessor organisations as CEO.

In total, some 44 chief executives have left their roles since January 2015, taking with them 511 years of experience. This includes ‘big beasts’ such as retirees Tom Dacey, Keith Exford and Steve Howlett.


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So what does this changing of the guard mean for the sector? And to what extent is the sector grasping this as an opportunity to improve inclusivity among chief executives?

Our exclusive data table (see below) measures the current term lengths of the chief executives of the largest 100 housing associations in the UK. Where a chief executive has left as a result of appointments since 2015, we have also recorded how long their predecessor was in the post.

Perhaps the most obvious thing to note is that the list of departures is overwhelmingly of people retiring, with only a handful moving on to other CEO jobs, such as Geeta Nanda (who moved from Thames Valley to Metropolitan).

Thirty of the chief executives to depart had been in their post for 10 years or more, these include several who were appointed as the first chief executives of associations formed through the glut of large scale voluntary transfers encouraged by New Labour in the early 2000s.

It is not surprising that 15 or 20 years or so down the line, a lot of these executives have now reached retirement age.

Chief executive terms of largest 100 housing associations

Click on any column heading to sort

Full years in postChief execSinceOrganisation nameTotal stockPreceded by / departedDeparture dateSinceFull years in post
21David Cowans1997Places for People182,725
0Ruth Cooke*2018Clarion Housing Group124,878Keith Exford2018200612*Ms Cooke has been placed on leave
26David Bennett*1992Sanctuary Group99,481 0*Mr Bennett will leave in January
10David Montague2008L&Q90,571
3Catriona Simons2015The Guinness Partnership66,684Simon Dow2015200114
14Kate Davies*2004Notting Hill Genesis64,871Neil Hadden (Genesis)201720098* Includes 14 years as chief executive of Notting Hill prior to the formation of Notting Hill Genesis in 2018
0Mark Washer2018Sovereign55,791Ann Santry2018200018
10Mark Henderson2008Home Group55,516
17Brendan Sarsfield*2001Peabody (including Family Mosaic)55,104Steve Howlett2017200413*Includes 16 years as chief executive of Family Mosaic before its 2017 merger with Peabody
6Carol Matthews2012Riverside52,610
9Martin Armstrong2009Wheatley Group49,817
4Elaine Bailey2014Hyde49,160
5Paul Hackett*2012Optivo41,896Nick Apetroaie (Viridian)201720151*Includes five years as chief executive of Amicus Horizon before the formation of Optivo in 2017
2Bronwen Rapley2016Onward Homes (Symphony HG)40,791Phil Gandy201620079
1Mark Hoyland2017Orbit40,610Paul Tennant2016200313
1Geeta Nanda2017Metropolitan (including Thames Valley)37,505Brian Johnson201620124
4Steve Close2014Together Housing Group36,841
29Darrell Mercer1988A2 Dominion36,739
8Paul Crawford*2009Liverty36,015Nick Horne (Knightstone)2017199819*Includes eight years as chief executive of Decon & Cornwall Housing prior to its merger with Knightsotne in 2018
8Jane Ashcroft2010Anchor Trust35,098
0David Jepson (interim)*2017Gentoo34,021John Craggs201720152*Nigel Wilson will take over in January
2Ian Wardle2016Thirteen Group33,741Alison Thain*201620148*Includes six years as Fabrick chief executive
6Brian Cronin2012Your Housing Group33,277
0Glenn Harris2018Midland Heart33,153Ruth Cooke201820126
1Hilary Roberts*2016Jigsaw Group31,951Ian Munro (New Charter)2017200017*Includes less than two years as chief executive of Adactus
13Kevin Dodd2005WDH31,202
1Nicholas Harris2017Stonewater30,853Bob Strachan201720151
3Kevin Rodgers2015WM Housing30,715Pat Brandum2015200213*Includes eight years as West Mercia CEO
3Philippa Jones*2015Bromford29,510Mick Kent2014198420*Ms Jones is to leave after Bromford merges with Merlin
5Mark Perry*2013Vivid29,322Peter Walters (First Wessex)2017200710*Includes three years as chief executive of Sentinel
9Bjorn Howard2009Aster Group29,219
0Alan Townshend2018Southern Housing Group27,540Tom Dacey2018199523
15David Pickering2003Waterloo Housing Group26,867Gerald Taylor (Acclaim)2016200214
0Gary Orr*2018Radian24,241Lindsay Todd201720069*Mr Orr begins his role in October
7Dilip Kavi*2011PA Housing23,593Matt Cooney (Asra)201720107*Includes six years as Paragon chief executive before the merger with Asra. Mr Cooney is now chief operating officer at PA Housing
15Geraldine Howley2003Incommunities22,836
9David McQuade2008Flagship Homes22,521
17Rob Young*2001Torus21,592Peter Mercer (Golden Gates)2014200311*Includes 14 years as chief executive of Helena Partnerships
16Rod Cahill*2002Catalyst21,153 *Mr Cahill is leaving Catalyst at the end of 2018
6Helen Evans2011Network Homes20,649
1Paul Dolan2017Accent Group20,622Gordon Perry201720079
5Elizabeth Austerberry2013Moat20,494
8Gary Fulford2009WHG20,334
1David McCullough2017Abbeyfield20,189Douglas Webb (interim)201720170
3Julie Doyle2015Longhurst Group19,895*Bob Walder2014198925*Includes 11 years as chief executive of Longhurst Housing Association
5Bruce Moore2013Housing & Care 2119,589
5Matthew Harrison2013Great Places Housing Group18,964
14Chan Kataria2004EMH Group18,913
3Barbara Spicer2014Plus Dane18,782
4Clare Tickell2014Hanover18,780
3Bill Fullen2014County Durham Housing Group18,367
4Kevin Bolt2014BPHA18,186 *Includes period as interim
8Jon Lord2010Bolton at Home17,846
10Tim Doyle2008ForViva17,666
10Mervyn Jones2008Yorkshire Housing16,516
7Paul Fiddaman*2011Karbon Homes16,365 Includes one year as chief executive of Isos and five years as chief executive of Cestria Community Housing
1Richard Hill2017One Housing16,224Mick Sweeney2017200710
14Amanda Davies*2004Pobl Group15,971Michael Williams (Gwalia)2016198234Includes 12 years as chief executive of Seren Group
2John Clark2016Plymouth Community Homes15,779Clive Turner201620097
1John Baldwin*2017Thames Valley Housing15,466Geeta Nanda201720089*Mr Baldwin was appointed as Thames Valley CEO until the completion of its merger with Metropolitan this month
24Guy Weston*1994Fortis Living15,460 *Includes 10 years as chief executive of Festival Housing and seven years as chief executive of Spa Housing Association
10Steve Coffey2008Liverpool Mutual Homes15,378
0John Johnston2018Bernicia14,547Bill Heads2018200810
3Matthew Bailes2015Paradigm14,231Alison Hadden201520078
18John Broadhead2000The Wrekin Housing Group13,536
5Nigel Wilson*2013Wythenshawe Community Housing Group13,532 *Mr Wilson is leaving Wythenshawe at the end of the year to go to Genoo
7Victor da Cunha2011Curo13,288
0Ian Munro (interim)2018Knowsley Housing Trust13,284Bob Taylor2018200414
11Gareth Swarbrick2007Rochdale Boroughwide Housing13,097
4Michael Birkett2014Regenda13,040
12Roy Williams2006One Vision Housing13,016
29Chris Handy1989Accord12,717
13John McLean*2005Radius12,506 *Including 12 years as CEO of Fold
13Brian Simpson2005Magenta Living12,479
10David Power*2008One Manchester12,002Sheila Doran (Eastlands)2015200510*Includes seven years as CEO at City South Manchester
3Gavin Cansfield2015North Hertfordshire Homes11,968Kevin Thompson2015200213
12Sarah Boden*2006Housing Plus Group11,854Debbie Griffiths (Housing Plus)2016200313*Including 10 years as chief executive of Severnside Housing
5Howard Toplis2013GreenSquare Group11,685
12Anne Hinchey2006Wales & West Housing11,623
0Vinny Roche2018First Choice Homes Oldham11,571Cath Green201720107
1Aileen Evans2017Grand Union Housing Group11,437Alan Humphreys2017199918
25John Synnuck1993Swan Housing Association10,868
3Claire Higgins2014Cross Keys Homes10,840
0Ian Thomas2017Trivallis10,837Adrian Barber (interim)201720170
2Ian McDermott*2016Aldwyck Housing Group10,752Harj Singh201520096*Mr McDermott joins Catalyst at the end of the year
2Michael McDonnell2015Choice Housing10,687Ian Elliott (Oaklee)2016200015
2Michael McDonnell2015Choice Housing10,687Arthur Canning (Trinity)2015198331
2Michael McDonnell2015Choice Housing10,687John Gartland (Ulidia)*2016199125*Start date is approximate
0Peter Lenehan (acting)2018Coast & Country10,657Iain Sim2018200216
14Zoe Forster2004Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership10,304
7Gary Orr*2011Yarlington Housing Group10,245 *Mr Orr is leaving Yarlington in October to join Radian
18David Done2000RHP10,083
14Jacqueline De-Rose2003Progress Housing Group10,069
14Ceri Doyle2004Newport City Homes9,714
0Steve Hepworth2018Ongo9,700Andy Orrey2017200710
8Linda Whittaker2010Tai Tarian (formerly NPT Homes)9,629
0Mary Gibbons2018CHP9,406Stuart Stackhouse2018200216
11Sinead Butters2006Aspire Housing9,329
11Mike Andrews2007Nottingham Community9,224
10Lindsey Williams2007Futures Housing Group9,185
1Alan Brunt2017Bron Afon8,989Duncan Forbes2017200710
3Lee Sugden2014Salix Homes8,936

Source for stock figures: www.housingexpert.com

Another, possibly more important, factor is that many housing figures who came in to the sector in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of the post-Cathy Come Home indignation are now hitting retirement age.

“It has been like a generation who grew up in the ‘housing movement’, reaching that stage together,” says Greg Campbell, partner at recruitment firm Campbell Tickell. Mr Campbell goes on to suggest policies announced under the Cameron government may have persuaded in some chief executives that now is the time to call it a day.

Mr Campbell says: “People were not expecting the rent cut, that meant organisations had to make cuts, and that made a lot of people think ‘this is not what I came into the sector for.’”

Added to this is pressure on organisations to diversify their funding streams, the challenges of digitisation, coping with an ageing population and welfare reform and changes to consumer regulation post-Grenfell. All of this may have been an influencing factor in persuading some to step down.

Most recent chief executive appointments

Click on any column heading to sort

Chief executiveAppointedOrganisation nameTotal stock
Ruth Cooke*2018Clarion Housing Group124,878*Ms Cooke has been placed on leave
Mark Washer2018Sovereign55,791
Glenn Harris2018Midland Heart33,153
Alan Townshend2018Southern Housing Group27,540
Gary Orr*2018Radian24,241*Mr Orr begins his role in October
John Johnston2018Bernicia14,547
Ian Munro (interim)2018Knowsley Housing Trust13,284
Vinny Roche2018First Choice Homes Oldham11,571
Peter Lenehan (acting)2018Coast & Country10,657
Steve Hepworth2018Ongo9,700
Mary Gibbons2018CHP9,406
Mark Hoyland2017Orbit40,610
Geeta Nanda2017Metropolitan (including Thames Valley)37,505
David Jepson (interim)*2017Gentoo34,021*Mr Wilson will take over in January
Nicholas Harris2017Stonewater30,853
Paul Dolan2017Accent Group20,622
David McCullough2017Abbeyfield20,189
Richard Hill2017One Housing16,224
John Baldwin2017Thames Valley Housing15,466
Aileen Evans2017Grand Union Housing Group11,437
Ian Thomas2017Trivallis10,837
Alan Brunt2017Bron Afon8,989
Bronwen Rapley2016Onward Homes (Symphony HG)40,791
Ian Wardle2016Thirteen Group33,741*Includes six years as Fabrick chief executive
Hilary Roberts*2016Jigsaw Group31,951*Includes less than two years as chief executive of Adactus
John Clark2016Plymouth Community Homes15,779
Ian McDermott*2016Aldwyck Housing Group10,752*Mr McDermott joins Catalyst at the end of the year
Catriona Simons2015The Guinness Partnership66,684
Kevin Rodgers2015WM Housing30,715*Including eight years as West Mercia CEO
Philippa Jones*2015Bromford29,510*Ms Jones is to leave after Bromford merges with Merlin
Julie Doyle2015Longhurst Group19,895*Includes 11 years as chief executive of Longhurst Housing Association
Matthew Bailes2015Paradigm14,231
Gavin Cansfield2015North Hertfordshire Homes11,968
Michael McDonnell2015Choice Housing10,587

The fact that 30 chief executives had served in their roles for 10 years or more suggests a lot of experience is being lost, it also raises questions about the length of executive terms in the sector, as does the fact that 28 current CEOs have been in their post for a decade or more.

The average length of CEO tenure for FTSE 100 companies is six years,research by international recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggleshas shown.

This suggests the biggest housing associations often have chief executives in the post for longer than other large companies.

Kate Still, chief operations officer at WM Housing, believes this needs addressing. “After 10 or 15 years you need some fresh thinking, a new perspective,” she says. Incidentally, Ms Still’s own boss at WM Housing, Kevin Rogers, is one of the new faces having been appointed chief executive in 2015 replacing the experienced Pat Brandum.

Longest-serving current chief executives

Click on any column heading to sort

Chief executiveFull years in postOrganisationTotal stock
Chris Handy29Accord12,717
Darrell Mercer29A2 Dominion36,739
David Bennett26Sanctuary Group99,481*Mr Bennett will leave in January
John Synnuck25Swan Housing Association10,868
Guy Weston*24Fortis Living15,460*Includes 10 years as chief executive of Festival Housing and seven years as chief executive of Spa Housing Association
David Cowans21Places for People182,725
John Broadhead18The Wrekin Housing Group13,536
David Done18RHP10,083
Brendan Sarsfield*17Peabody (including Family Mosaic)55,104*Includes 16 years as chief executive of Family Mosaic before its 2017 merger with Peabody
Rob Young*17Torus21,592*Includes 14 years as chief executive of Helena Partnerships
Rod Cahill*16Catalyst21,153*Mr Cahill is leaving Catalyst at the end of 2018
David Pickering15Waterloo Housing Group26,867
Geraldine Howley15Incommunities22,836
Kate Davies*14Notting Hill Genesis64,871* Includes 14 years as chief executive of Notting Hill prior to the formation of Notting Hill Genesis in 2018
Chan Kataria14EMH Group18,913
Amanda Davies*14Pobl Group15,971*Includes 12 years as chief executive of Seren Group
Zoe Forster14Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership10,304
Ceri Doyle14Newport City Homes9,714
Jacqueline de Rose14Progress Housing Group10,069
Kevin Dodd13WDH31,202
John McClean*13Radius12,506*Including 12 years as chief executive of Fold
Brian Simpson13Magenta Living12,479
Roy Williams12One Vision Housing13,016
Sarah Boden*12Housing Plus Group11,854*Including 10 years as chief executive of Severnside Housing
Anne Hinchey12Wales & West Housing11,623
Gareth Swarbrick11Rochdale Boroughwide Housing13,097
Mike Andrews11Nottingham Community9,224
Sinead Butters11Aspire Housing9,329
David Montague10L&Q90,571
Mark Henderson10Home Group55,516
Tim Doyle10ForViva17,666
Mervyn Jones10Yorkshire Housing16,516
Steve Coffey10Liverpool Mutual Homes15,378
David Power*10One Manchester12,002*Including seven years as CEO at City South Manchester
Lindsey Williams10Futures Housing Group9,185

Steve Douglas, partner at Altair, suggests long terms are not necessarily a problem if the CEO is still ‘growing, developing and thinking’.

However, what these lengthy terms do suggest is that it might be a number of years before so many roles become vacant again.

Mr Douglas said: “This is a window of opportunity to ensure greater diversity and the sector should seize it.”

So is the sector grabbing this opportunity so far?

The answer, unfortunately appears to be ‘no’.

Our analysis shows that just two out of of the 34 new chief executives appointed since 2015 are black or minority ethnic (BME) and one of these is Geeta Nanda, who had been an existing chief executive at Thames Valley before her move to Metropolitan.

Chief executive departures

Click on any column heading to sort

Chief executiveDeparture dateFull years in postOrganisation
Keith Exford201812Clarion Housing Group
Ann Santry201818Sovereign
Ruth Cooke20186Midland Heart
Tom Dacey201823Southern Housing Group
Bill Heads201810Bernicia
Bob Taylor201814Knowsley Housing Trust
Iain Sim201816Coast & Country
Stuart Stackhouse201816CHP
Steve Howlett201713Peabody (including Family Mosaic)
Neil Hadden (Genesis)20178Notting Hill Genesis
Nick Horne (Knightstone)201719Liverty
Nick Apetroaie (Viridian)20171Optivo
Peter Walters (First Wessex)201710Vivid
Lindsay Todd20179Radian
Bob Strachan20171Stonewater
Mick Sweeney201710One Housing
Geeta Nanda20179Thames Valley Housing
Alan Humphreys201718Grand Union Housing Group
Duncan Forbes201710Bron Afon
Ian Munro (New Charter)201717Jigsaw Group
Cath Green20177First Choice Homes Oldham
Andy Orrey201710Ongo
John Craggs20172Gentoo
Douglas Webb (interim)20170Abbeyfield
Adrian Barber (interim)20170Trivallis
Gerald Taylor (Acclaim)201614Waterloo Housing Group
Michael Williams (Gwalia)201634Pobl Group
Debbie Griffiths (Housing Plus)201613Housing Plus Group
Matt Cooney (Asra)20166PA Housing
Phil Gandy20169Onward Homes (Symphony HG)
Alison Thain20168Thirteen Group
Clive Turner20167Plymouth Community Homes
Paul Tennant201613Orbit
Brian Johnson20164Metropolitan (including Thames Valley)
Gordon Perry20169Accent Group
Ian Elliott (Oaklee)201615Choice Housing
John Gartland (Ulidia)201625Choice Housing
Sheila Doran (Eastlands)201510One Manchester
Simon Dow201514The Guinness Partnership
Pat Brandrum201513WM Housing
Alison Hadden20158Paradigm
Kevin Thompson201513North Hertfordshire Homes
Arthur Canning (Trinity)201531Choice Housing
Harj Singh20156Aldwyck Housing Group

Only nine of the 34 appointments were women and only one was from outside the social housing sector.

Taking ethnicity first, the fact that just 5.9% of new appointments are BME stands out as a very low figure, suggesting little progress compared to the 4.5% of 331 housing executives identified as BME in an audit published by Inside Housing earlier this year.

Tom Murtha, a former chief executive and long-time campaigner for more inclusivity in the sector, says: “It is shocking and shameful that out of 34 appointments just two BME chief executives, including one that was already a chief executive, have been appointed. This was a huge opportunity and for whatever reason we haven’t been able to open up to talent from the BME community.”

Mr Murtha says a lack of skilled candidates within BME communities is not the problem, and there are high numbers of BME people working in the sector in more junior positions.

“All of the evidence suggests that diverse interview panels lead to diverse candidates and diverse recruitment outcomes", Steve Douglas, partner, Altair

Terrie Alafat, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, agrees. She says: “We know from our own internal research that as a sector, housing is actually more diverse than average. But at the top of our organisations, on our senior teams and boards, it’s a different story.”

For Mr Murtha the responsibility to change this situation begins and ends with boards, which are often dominated by white men and are, unconsciously or otherwise, drawn to appointing candidates who look like them.

He says: “A lot of the solutions you hear put forward suggest there is a problem within the BME communities and associations talk about the need to develop people and skills, but actually we are the problem, we need to get our culture right – we shouldn’t be just picking people in our own image.”

Mr Douglas says where there is a will from an organisation, recruiters should be able to ensure diversity of board membership. He adds that most associations adopt maximum board terms of six or nine years, meaning opportunities to refresh boards come up regularly.

He says: “All of the evidence suggests that diverse interview panels lead to diverse candidates and diverse recruitment outcomes.”

In addition to ensuring diverse boards, Mr Murtha also suggests that if people from BME communities are not applying for roles, organisations need to think about how and where they advertise roles or whether they need to change the criteria.

The criteria used to select candidates is also a major factor in the relative lack of women chief executives appointed, suggest Ms Still.

In numbers: chief executive appointment analysis

44 chief executives have left the role since 2015

9 of the 34 chief executive appointments are women

5.9% are new appointments were black or minority ethnic

11.6 years the average length of term of those that have left since 2015

She points out that boards in the sector typically have a preference for candidates with skill sets in traditionally male-dominated areas, such as property or finance, rather than areas such as housing management. Of the 34 new CEOs it is not always obvious how to categorise their background, but it does indeed look as though the biggest group can be said to be from finance or development.

“There is a real undervaluing of the housing management part of the organisation” she says.

Ms Still says there is therefore “a skill set deficit” in the sector, and a misunderstanding about the nature of leadership. She argues: “A good leader doesn’t necessarily need technical skills, they need to be able to drive a business forward and take people with them.”

The danger in all this, she suggests, is that boards look at a narrow skill set based on finance and governance and that people who display different thinking and different characteristics are overlooked.

She also suggests that women often don’t want to apply for more senior posts because of stereotyping and constantly being told they are wrong by men. A lot of networking in the sector also takes place outside of work hours, which is not suitable for those with childcare responsibilities, often women.

Chief executives explain why they left when they did

Chief executives explain why they left when they did

“I think the turnover in housing association chief executives should be seen as an opportunity for the sector to re-energise and reinvent itself to meet the increasing challenges of the housing crisis. "Hopefully a younger and more diverse cohort of CEOs than when I became one in my mid 40s will challenge and disrupt the market and find new solutions.

"I retired as Accent CEO as part of my long term plan to retire when I turned 60, but am finding new energy and enthusiasm in my non executive director roles.

"Perhaps the nine- year max non-executive rule should be extended to CEOs?”

It certainly should be considered if a CEO has not led there organisation to grow, strengthen or transform its operations."
Gordon Perry, retired as chief executive of Accent Group in 2017

andy orrey

"There is a good reason for the nine-year rule with board members, and I think similar principles apply to chief executives - a time comes for organisations to get fresh impetus and we had actively planned for succession so it just seemed reasonably normal.

"Some people can switch off from work, unfortunately I’m not one of those and all the successes and failures of the organisation were very personal to me which gets a bit wearing after so many years. The rent cuts weren’t a factor ; we got over that within six months of it being announced."

Andy Orrey, who left his role as chief executive of Ongo in 2017

The concerns about a narrow focus when recruiting are arguably also borne out by the finding that just one out of the 34 new appointments are from outside of the social housing sector

Mr Campbell says boards often “flirt” with the idea of looking outside the sector, but when it comes to the crunch they tend to go with people who have social housing sector experience. “Some might say that is conservative but it is a pretty complicated sector,” he says.

Mr Douglas on the other hand, warns that not looking outside housing “would be a cause for concern if organisations are missing the opportunity to consider the widest pool of talent.”

The debate about hiring outside of your own sector is one that has been going for many years, but out-of-sector appointments are on the rise among the largest companies, according to a 2016 study by consultancy PWC.

But the overall picture in UK social housing is of risk-averse boards largely sticking to candidates in the sector, with a preference for those with finance or development backgrounds.

"The window of opportunity created by the old guard retiring is closing"

Only one in four of new CEOs are women, and hardly any are from BME communities.

Are we likely to see any change soon? There certainly has been much talk in the sector about inclusivity recently.

Inside Housing’s Inclusive Futures campaign challenges landlords to sign up to steps to promote inclusivity among leadership teams and the CIH’s presidential commission also has practical recommendations for landlords.

Several associations have pledged to adopt the Rooney Rule – which obliges them to shortlist women and BME candidates for senior roles.

The Leadership 2025 programme, sponsored by L&Q, Optivo, BME London and supported by the Mayor of London, aims to help BME leaders into senior positions, while the National Housing Federation has pledged to “bring organisations together and encourage them to challenge themselves” on diversity.

So there is much talk, but the window of opportunity created by the old guard retiring is closing and the time for action is now.

The Inclusive Futures Summit

The Inclusive Futures Summit

Inside Housing is launching the Inclusive Futures Summit

Our high-level summit will bring together respected people leaders and exemplars from the across sector and wider business to debate, discuss and learn how to embed diversity and inclusion in your organisations and harness the myriad benefits that this creates and to ensure that your workplace is reflective of the diverse communities you serve.

Themes being discussed include why being an inclusive organisation can help you be more successful, how to make inclusion visible in your organisation and the best approaches to encourage diversity at board level.

Discussions will also focus on how to future-proof your recruitment processes, promote inclusion through talent management, build working environments safe from prejudice and tackle unconscious bias.

The summit will take place on October 11 at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK NOW

 

Inclusive Futures

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.

Click here to read more or to sign up for more information

THE INCLUSIVE FUTURES CHALLENGE

Inside Housing calls on organisations to sign up to an inclusive future by taking five steps:

Prioritise diversity and inclusion at the top: commitment and persistence from chief executives, directors and chairs in setting goals and monitoring progress.

Collect data on the diversity of your board, leadership and total workforce and publish annually with your annual report. Consider gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, age, and representation of tenants on the board.

Set aspirational targets for recruitment to the executive team, board and committees from under-represented groups.

Challenge recruiting staff and agencies to ensure that all shortlists include candidates from under-represented groups.

Make diversity and inclusion a core theme in your talent management strategy to ensure you support people from under-represented groups to progress their careers.

THE CASE FOR CHANGE

34%

of housing association chief executives are female

1%

of housing association executives have a disability

1.6%

of housing association board members are LGBT

Women make up 46% of the UK workforce, but Inside Housing research found that they are under-represented on housing association boards (36%), executive teams (39%) and among chief executives (34%).

Almost a fifth of working-age adults have a disability (18%), yet associations reported only 1% of executives and 4.5% of board members with a disability. Many were unable to provide details.

Nationwide, 14% of the working-age population come from a BME background, climbing to 40% in London and Birmingham. Yet our research found that 6.8% of board members identified as BME, compared with 4.5% of executives.

Statistics on representation of LGBT people in the workforce are in short supply, but official statistics suggest that 2% of the total UK population identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, rising to 4.1% for 16 to 24-year-olds. Our survey found that 1.6% of board members and 10 executives were LGBT – but most organisations were unable to provide figures.

Click here to read the full research

INSIDE HOUSING’S PLEDGES

We will take proactive steps to promote positive role models from under-represented groups and provide information to support change.

We pledge to:

Publish diversity audits: We will audit the diversity of the commentators we feature. We will formalise this process and publish the results for future audits twice a year.

Promote role models: We will work to highlight leading lights from specific under-represented groups, starting in early 2018 with our new BME Leaders List.

Launch Inclusive Futures Bureau: We will work with the sector to compile a database of speakers, commentators and experts from under-represented groups. The bureau will be available to events organisers, media outlets and publications to support them to better represent the talent in the sector.

Take forward the Women in Housing Awards: Inside Housing has taken on these successful awards and will work to grow and develop them.

Convene Inclusive Futures Summit: Our new high-level event will support organisations to develop and implement strategies to become more diverse and inclusive.

The Inside Housing Diversity Audit: how diverse has our coverage been?

The Inside Housing Diversity Audit: how diverse has our coverage been?

The media plays a key role in championing diverse role models, so we designed a project to measure Inside Housing’s track record.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RESULTS

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