What is Leadership 2025?
Leadership 2025 is a charity and a movement working across the sector, together with our key stakeholders, to make the housing sector leadership more ethnically diverse. Leadership 2025 began as a leadership programme for senior leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds and supporting talent in this way is a key part of our work and how we achieve our aims. However, there was more work to be done across the sector to drive the cultural change that was needed for true and lasting ethnic diversity of leadership. As well as research reports, recruitment pledges and collaboration with allies, we obtained charitable status so we could really drive forward our vision and mission.
Mission
To dismantle structural inequality in the housing sector by ensuring equity of opportunity for leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Vision
For Leadership 2025 to no longer exist because housing’s leadership teams have achieved true and lasting ethnic diversity and representation.
We have recently updated our three-year business plan and will be sharing it soon.
Why was Leadership 2025 set up?
In many areas, the housing sector is ahead of the curve on diversity and inclusion in employment.
Research from the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) shows that the housing sector is:
- More diverse than other sectors
- Employing a higher proportion of women
- Employing more people from BME communities
- Employing more people with disabilities
But where the sector falls short is in the proportion of ethnic minority representation in leadership positions. This continues to be disproportionately small. The National Housing Federation’s most recent diversity data showed 4% of executive roles being held by individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared to a 16% of the total population. Whilst there are a number of ethnic minority CEOs in BME HAs, these organisations tend to be between 50 – 5,000 units. The representation of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds in larger HAs drops significantly.
Following the repeatedly woeful diversity statistics at the top level and the clear benefits of having diverse leadership teams being well documented, Leadership 2025, was set up in 2016. With support from a number of allies, we had an ambition of providing solutions and stimulating the housing sector to address inequalities. This would deliver a step-change in ethnically diverse leadership across the sector.
Leadership 2025 consists of two main strands, which are aimed to complement each other:
- Cultural Impact
- Support Talent
Cultural Impact:
Leadership 2025 seeks to positively disrupt the housing sector by challenging current perceptions and promoting the fact that diversity is not something that ticks boxes but is good for business. As the country grows more diverse, it is a moral priority as well as a strategic one. Leadership 2025 published two research reports (2017 and 2019) with statistics and recommendations to support organisations to make a change. Many of these findings were later repeated in the National Housing Federation’s 2021 and 2023 Diversity reports. This year, we hope to conduct more another piece of research to really understand the story of ethnic minority leaders in and beyond the sector to champion their voice and find real solutions to the problem.
Now a charity with a director, Leadership 2025 are able to pursue the cultural impact strand of their work. This element aims to secure a sector-wide mindset change that understands the importance of making leadership teams more reflective of the communities they serve. This includes encouraging employers to champion support for diverse leadership and to take demonstrable action.
Leadership 2025 has been working with trade bodies and political organisations to effect this sector-wide shift. Leadership 2025 will conduct further research, collaborate with other public sector agencies and access funding from other, diversified sources. This in turn will allow us to have a greater impact within the housing sector and beyond it.
Support Talent:
This strand focuses on the continued need to ensure that ethnic minority senior managers can feel they are fully equipped to be sector leaders. To address the lack of senior managers from ethnic minority backgrounds in leadership teams and boards, we developed, with Roffey Park Business school, an intensive nine-month leadership programme, involving strategic learning, peer group challenge, sector leadership mentors and technical masterclasses. Those who go through the leadership development programme should be sat around the top table of sector leadership in future years. Five cohorts have now completed the programme and bring a wealth of talent and expertise to the sector and its leadership.
Leadership 2025 has a long-term ambition of supporting the creation of a housing sector that is vibrant and diverse at all levels, with better representation of ethnic minority individuals in board and exeutive teams.
Leadership 2025 Endorsement and Feedback:
‘I’m really pleased to support Leadership 2025. The programme not only shapes brilliant sector leaders, but it also has a huge cultural impact, showcasing critical research into the lived experiences of those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
The National Housing Federation’s most recent report on the diversity of the social housing sector workforce revealed a lack of ethnic diversity at leadership level. 10% of the workforce is Black/African/Caribbean/Black British compared to just 3% of executives. 5% of the workforce is Asian/Asian British but only 1% are executives. This is why Leadership 2025’s work is so important. I look forward to seeing how it continues to expand over the next year.’
Kate Henderson, CEO, NHF
Currently, we are undergoing a large feedback exercise to inform the sixth iteration of the programme We look forward to sharing more details later this year.
Leadership 2025 Success Stories
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, shows his support as he congratulates the second cohort and emphasises the importance of diversity in the housing sector.
