We need an honest picture if we are going to improve our sector for BAME colleagues

But we are also often too proud to admit its impact on us, or fear repercussions if we do. So, we remain quiet about it. It doesn’t get recorded, and it doesn’t give us an accurate picture of where we are, as a sector and as a society.

It is why this type of research is so important.

The social housing sector has always been a barometer of society: its pressures, its inequalities, its hopes, and its fractures. This Inside Housing survey exploring the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff lands at a moment when 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 have to support people to feel safe to share these experiences. To share that they have experienced discrimination, that they have seen or been told things simply because of the colour of their skin. To share 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, and 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 a landscape like we see today. We saw through the protests last year, and in some of the reaction to activist groups recently, there is growing division within society.

At the extremes of that division, there is violence and really unsettling beliefs. Much of that has been directed firmly towards people of colour.

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

We are also seeing those attitudes drive further misinformation and feed itself in a vicious cycle. You haven’t had to look to far to find accusations online that all social housing is going to immigrants, and other worryingly inaccurate and divisive rhetoric.

The survey is right to probe the impact of disinformation, particularly the persistent myth that “all social housing goes to immigrants.” It is a narrative repeatedly disproven by data, yet continually weaponised.

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 to it. 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 those people making decisions and our local communities, it is so important we take the time to recognise that tackling these attitudes and misinformation 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 our sector and in senior leadership. When we look across the sector, we only see 7% of women at board level in the UK, and even less representation from women of a multicultural background.

I want to see and support more people from diverse backgrounds and more women into 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 that honest reflection of where things are right now for Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues. A workforce that feels safe, respected and valued can better support customers who need them most.

That is why I would ask all colleagues to answer this survey and answer it honestly.

You can access and complete the Inside Housing survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LTG3J35