NHF calls on housing associations to review their EDI data collection

Elsewhere, the NHF found that only nine per cent of the sector’s workforce has a disability or long-term health condition, compared with 24 per cent of the population and 29 per cent of residents.

 

The report showed that, at a national level and across most characteristics, the sector’s workforce remains broadly representative of the population where housing association homes are located, with the exception of representation of disability.

 

While there has been a marginal increase in the proportion of disabled people in workforces, this is still not representative of the population, or of disabled people in employment nationally.

 

Executive positions are more likely to be held by male, older and White people, compared with the workforce, although there has been a slight increase in the proportion of female executives and those in the younger age categories.

 

However, the same barriers to senior leadership for people from Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British and Asian/Asian British ethnic groups still exist.

 

In addition, board members are also more male and older than the workforce. Compared with 2021, there is a higher proportion of female board members as well as disabled board members, although these changes are small.

 

The NHF found that while it has more complete data for all workforce groups and characteristics compared with its last report in 2021, “big gaps still remain” around data on socio-economic background and caring responsibilities.

 

The trade body is missing over 90 per cent of data on all these characteristics for the housing association workforce.

 

The organisation also highlighted the fact that staff were more likely not to disclose their religion (6.4 per cent), sexual orientation (6 per cent), marital status (4.2 per cent) and gender identity (four per cent), choosing “prefer not to say” for these characteristics. It suggested that this underlined the need to create more inclusive workplace cultures where people could “bring their whole selves to work”.

 

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said: “Data is the starting point for change, but better understanding of it needs to be followed up with action

 

“If we continue to close the gaps in our data when we repeat the collection in 2026, then this will continue to drive improvement in EDI across the sector,” she said.

 

“However, while this report shows that we’ve made some steps in the right direction, we still have a long way to go and progress has been slow.”

Recommendations

 

The NHF recommended that housing associations review their processes for collecting and storing EDI data.

 

In May, the NHF, alongside the Chartered Institute of Housing, published an action plan in response to the Better Social Housing Review. This stressed the importance of having data on, for example, residents’ ethnicities and disabilities or health conditions.

 

This is in order to understand potential inequity in outcomes regarding quality and safety risks.

 

The NHF said it understood there were barriers to collecting some of the information in the way the EDI data tool requires, because of the limitations of some IT systems.

 

The trade body acknowledged that change takes time and resources, and that this will be unique to each organisation.

 

Housing associations may want to consider collecting and storing EDI data separately and anonymously, particularly if the data indicates issues around inclusion and disclosure of information, the NHF added.

 

The report also recommended that providers use the data to set targets and shape plans and strategies to meet those targets, together with the expertise of those with lived experience.

 

The NHF said the sector now needed to use the data to identify areas for improvement, for example where there has been little or no progress, and should consider setting targets in those areas.

 

It can be more effective to focus on making progress on a few key characteristics or workforce groups, such as a provider’s leadership team or board.

 

The report also said that housing associations should review their recruitment processes to ensure these were not creating barriers for ethnic minorities and disabled people.

 

The NHF recommended that providers adopt sector-wide initiatives to drive change, including the Disability Confident scheme, Leadership 2025 and HouseProud Pledge.

 

It also encouraged them to join the NHF Chairs’ Challenge and use the trade body’s resources to help increase board diversity. The Chair’s Challenge is a public commitment chairs can make to “take their board on a journey to understand how diverse and inclusive [the organisation is] now, and then develop a vision for the future”. More than 50 chairs have signed up, according to the published list of names.

 

Next steps

 

The NHF said it would continue to support members to focus on areas of improvement and build on its recommendations.

 

It will publish regional breakdowns of the data, repeat the data collection in 2026 to measure progress and continue to share best-practice resources and case studies with members.

 

The NHF will also develop guidance on the information housing associations should collect about residents.

 

“This report is the next milestone in this long-term programme of work, setting out recommendations to help us meet our ambition to drive change, close the gaps in our data, and become a more equal and diverse sector,” Ms Henderson said.

 

“But we know there’s still much more we need to do. There have been some improvements, but we are still a long way from where we want to get to.

 

“When we started this journey, we knew that change would take time, but we’re still as committed to making meaningful change as I know the rest of the sector is too. This work is so important, and addressing the inequalities within the workforce and the wider sector must remain a priority.”