Disability Confident best practice for housing associations

The NHF’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) report published in December 2021 revealed a clear lack of representation of disabled people throughout housing associations workforces. Only 8% of housing association staff, executives and board members indicate they have a disability, compared to 24% of the population in stock location.

Our report recommends that housing associations should review and update their workforce EDI data to address gaps on disability and seek to improve the representation of disabled people at all levels of the organisation. This is particularly important as there are proportionately more disabled people living in social housing than in any other tenure.

For housing associations to be reflective of their communities, we must identify barriers for disabled people entering and progressing within the workforce.  Becoming a Disability Confident employer can be an important first step for organisations looking to address inequality and improve diversity and inclusion.

Disability Confident organisations play a leading role in changing attitudes for the better by shifting behaviour and cultures in their businesses, networks and communities, and reaping the benefits of inclusive recruitment practices.

Resources

As part of our commitment towards implementing the key recommendations from the EDI report, we’ve been working with Disability Confident members across the sector to help support others by highlighting examples of good and inclusive practice.

Check out a range of resources and content available on our website below.