Since Donald Trump became US president at the start of 2025, he’s set about cutting funding to “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and is urging other countries to do the same. But even though the housing sector needs to do better, his rhetoric seems to be having a galvanising effect, as Neil Merrick finds out.

More than a decade ago, Ulfat Hussain found himself assistant director at Great Places, the Manchester-based housing group.

Keen to get on, he started applying for more senior posts at other mainstream associations, but without success. Eventually, Hussain was appointed deputy chief executive at Manningham, a BME housing association in West Yorkshire, where he remained for 12 years.

Last year, he moved back across the Pennines to head up Arawak Walton, a small BME association in Greater Manchester. But while delighted to be a chief executive, he’s disappointed that career progress eluded him outside the BME sector.

“The sector is less diverse than it was 20 years ago at leadership level,” says Hussain. “I don’t see enough people of colour in senior meetings or at management conferences.”

Tenants from BME backgrounds live in some of the poorest housing in the UK, he adds, depending hugely on social landlords. But to what extent does the housing workforce genuinely reflect tenants in terms of ethnicity and other characteristics?

A 2023 report by the National Housing Federation found that 10% of housing association employees were black, while 5% were Asian. But the same study also showed just 3% of housing association executives as black, with 1% Asian.

“People from minority backgrounds are becoming more vocal, rather than just accepting what’s given”
Mushtaq Khan, chief executive, Housing Diversity Network

Studies by the Housing Diversity Network (HDN) appear to confirm that, while social landlords may come close to reflecting their local community among customer-facing staff, this diversity diminishes higher up the organisation.

A recent HDN study of landlords in southwest England found that boards and leadership teams fail to represent people with disabilities, while there are significant gaps in areas such as gender identity, sexuality and religious diversity. “Leadership teams often rely on pipelines from less diverse workforce pools, limiting progress at senior levels,” it says.

Recruitment bias

HDN chief executive Mushtaq Khan says such gaps can be down to recruitment bias or poor leadership planning. “Organisations try to get more people from diverse backgrounds into the sector, but then they get stuck,” he says.

Two years ago, the Better Social Housing Review noted the number of associations with all-white executive teams and all-white boards. Without greater diversity, it said, the tenant voice risked being lost in a sector “where leaders can be distanced from the realities of tenant experience”.

According to Hussain, it’s vital the housing workforce reflects communities, not just in how it looks, but the way that employees operate and behave. “Unless people in these organisations have diversity of thought, it’s not going to change,” he says.

The NHF’s 2023 report flagged up glaring discrepancies when it comes to disability, with just 9% of housing staff having a disability or long-term condition, compared with 29% of residents.

There was also a shortfall of female executives and board members, with women making up 54% of the housing association workforce but just 47% of executives and 44% of board members.

The report was based on returns by 177 housing associations, representing 76% of homes owned by associations in England. “The housing sector is happy to be put on a pedestal and held to account,” says Bethan Buck, who oversees NHF equality and diversity data collection as its head of member relations.

“The sector is less diverse than it was 20 years ago at leadership level. I don’t see enough people of colour in senior meetings or at management conferences”
Ulfat Hussain, chief executive, Arawak Walton

With the next report due in 2026, associations recognise there’s some way to go before they truly reflect local communities. “Our data shows that people are reaching middle management but not getting through the glass ceiling,” she adds.

“If we can support housing associations to improve the diversity of the workforce, particularly at leadership and board level, and provide them with a tool for shifting organisational culture, it will improve services for tenants,” says Buck.

The proportion of chief executives who are female rose from 45% to 47% between the NHF’s 2021 study and its most recent, in 2023. There was also a slight increase in the proportion of board members who are female (from 42% to 44%).

Gender equality – but at what cost?

But a recent survey by Women in Social Housing (WISH) found the slow drift towards gender equality is coming at a price. Published in March, the survey showed 60% of women feel that they are required to work harder than male counterparts to achieve the same opportunities and positions.

More than half (55%) of women say their voice is sometimes overlooked because of their gender, 72% report being interrupted or talked over in meetings, and 49% say their ideas have been dismissed, only to be acknowledged later when the same idea is put forward by a male colleague.

Lucy Malarkey, WISH’s managing director, says some housing roles are still mostly filled by men, including repairs and IT. “It’s only through having conversations that we break down stereotypes,” she adds.

With DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programmes under threat in Trumpian America, she urges the housing sector in the UK to shout louder about the efforts it’s making to be more diverse and inclusive.

“It’s almost as if what we’re hearing from across the pond is galvanising the sector,” says Malarkey, who is joint owner of Positive About Inclusion, a company that offers training on workplace culture. “Housing attracts people who are values driven and who want to work for a values-driven organisation.”

Barriers to tenant involvement

There’s also a need to attract a wider range of tenants onto association boards and scrutiny panels. A report published earlier this year by Tpas calls for more tenants from ethnic minorities to be offered a “seat at the table” by social landlords.

Better communication and awareness are needed, along with initiatives to build trust and respect. Only then will tenants from ethnic minorities will feel comfortable sitting alongside business leaders and other professionals in the boardroom, it says.

“Being in the boardroom is daunting,” says Kai Jackson, the report’s author. “A lot of tenants say it’s a lonely experience as your voice may not get heard.”

Jackson flags up the need to break down systemic barriers to tenant engagement, and tackle unconscious bias among employees. This can lead to tenants from BME backgrounds feeling ‘muted’ when addressed by staff. “They’re sometimes told they talk too loud and that their tone of voice is threatening,” she says.

“It’s almost as if what we’re hearing from across the pond is galvanising the sector. Housing attracts people who are values driven and who want to work for a values-driven organisation”
Lucy Malarkey, managing director, WISH

There are encouraging signs of progress. Some housing associations have created employee networks, covering characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability. These may be used as a platform for recruitment [see below].

A disability network set up by Sanctuary in 2022 has more than 200 members and, says group director Nathan Warren, a wheelchair user, provides an opportunity for staff with disabilities to connect, learn more and ask questions.

Slowly, the sector appears to be shaking off its reputation for being led by middle-aged, white men. Mandatory pay gap reporting covering ethnicity and disability will form part of a new equality bill, putting these characteristics on a par with gender.

“Equality needs carrots and sticks,” says the NHF’s Bethan Buck. “There are huge benefits to organisations if they improve diversity, but it takes work to achieve this and, for speedy or sustained progress, many need a level of regulation.”

Ultimately, it’s the efforts of employers and the response of staff and tenants that has greatest impact. According to Mushtaq Kahn, people from minority backgrounds are speaking out more while housing leaders are starting to recognise that diversity delivers success. “People from minority backgrounds are becoming more vocal, rather than just accepting what’s given,” he says.

Monitoring workforce diversity

The diversity of the UK’s housing workforce is monitored in a number of ways. Any employer with 250 or more staff must produce gender pay gap data on an annual basis or face legal action from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

In addition, the government is in the process of consulting over mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting. This is due to be enshrined in law via the equality (race and disability) bill, announced in last year’s King’s Speech.

Smaller employers are encouraged to sign up to the disability confident employer scheme, while housing providers may opt to carry out equality impact assessments, showing compliance with the public sector equality duty.

The Equality Act 2010, which created nine protected characteristics for equality, also features occasionally in judgements by the Housing Ombudsman.

During the 18 months to June 2023, the ombudsman determined 192 cases where bias, prejudice or discrimination was a key issue, with maladministration found in 36% of them. Most complaints covered antisocial behaviour or staff conduct, with social landlords ordered to pay a total of £32,000 in compensation.

Finally, the Regulator of Social Housing’s governance and financial viability standard requires housing providers to assess how they consider equality and diversity in their day-to-day operations. “We monitor this through both responsive engagement and our proactive inspections, and take action if the outcomes of our standards are not being met,” says the RSH.

Stonewater: Diversity as an employment strategy

Housing association Stonewater is committed to making its workforce more diverse, while reaping the rewards of recruiting from a wider pool of potential employees.

Its People Like Me campaign, launched last December, invites staff to suggest ways the association can attract people who are under-represented in its workforce by using customer stories to demonstrate the value of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at work.

Cordelia Johnney, Stonewater’s head of EDI, says drawing upon more candidates will allow the association to reflect its customer base more accurately, and ultimately offer a better service. “It’s important as an employer to be consciously inclusive and recruit in a consciously inclusive way,” she says.

About 13% of Stonewater employees and a similar proportion of leaders come from BME backgrounds, while just under 3% of leaders have a disability.

Employee networking groups were set up for race, gender, disability and LGBTQ rights. Each group supports employees in their personal development, while inspiring ideas that may attract employees who might not consider a career in housing, and, where necessary, breaking down barriers to employment. “It means we can throw the doors wide open,” she explains.

The campaign is looking beyond the nine protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 by also recognising the importance of socio-economic class. Hybrid working, first introduced during the pandemic, allows people with caring responsibilities to spend at least part of each week working from home.

Johnney is mobility impaired and, in her email signature, refers to her dyslexia as leading to “creative thinking and creative spelling”. Employers should be “disability confident”, she says, recognising people’s qualities and potential rather than setting up barriers. “When you’re neurodivergent, people can see it as a flaw, but it’s not.”

Neurodivergent candidates are allowed to view questions ahead of job interviews where this is requested while making a job application or after being offered an interview. “Sometimes the recruitment process depends on who shines on the day,” says Johnney. “If you’re neurodivergent you may not be able to do that.”