We believe that everyone has the right to be treated fairly, with dignity and respect. We know that to treat people fairly, we may need to treat people differently. We recognise everyone's differences and look to provide homes, services and support that are tailored around our customers individual needs.
So we have made E&D one of our key corporate objectives and are committed to making sure that we are delivering services which are inclusive and accessible to everyone. Our EDI framework helps us to do this by remove barriers and positively promote equal opportunities across all our services and operations. We also carry out impact assessments for all our policies, procedures and services.
Everyone in our organisation is responsible for ensuring E&D is embedded across the organisation and colleague behaviour is monitored in our performance reviews. Our leadership team set our strategic equality and diversity objectives, ensure that we comply with the relevant legislation and monitor our performance in relation to E&D. We have a dedicated E&D group which is made up of colleague champions who promote awareness and lead on E&D initiatives and good practice. We also have a customer E&D group who hold us to account and work with us to improve equality across all our services.
The DICE report - a shared commitment to equality and diversity
As an organisation we lead on Diversity, Inclusion, Community Cohesion and Equality (DICE) on behalf of Greater Manchester Housing Providers. In 2020 we produced The DICE report - an E&D base line study.
We surveyed GMHP members to understand what work we are doing to tackle inequality within our own organisations and collaboratively. We also looked at how we’ve responded to inequalities which the pandemic has highlighted, and asked members to outline priorities for future joint working.
All participants shared their results, so that we could show transparency and be honest about where we are now. The main findings of the report showed that we have a lot more to do in terms of both collecting data, and making use of the data to improve our performance on inequalities issues. The case studies in the report reflect the good work and intentions of organisations to address inequalities. The data provides evidence of where there are gaps between intention and reality.
The report has enabled members to sharpen their focus on tackling inequalities. It has been well received by others across the UK who have adapted our methodology to run their own versions of this survey. This will allow us to gather a more comprehensive picture of the sector’s response to tackling inequalities.
The DICE Report from irwell valley homes on Vimeo.
The HouseProud Pledge
HouseProud is the network for housing providers to improve the way we engage, support and deliver services to our LGBTQ+ communities and colleagues. The HouseProud Pledge is a commitment that social housing providers can sign up to, to demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ resident equality and support. It has been developed by HouseProud and the University of Surrey in association with residents, staff members and sector leaders.
The home is of central importance to LGBTQ+ residents, because it should be a place where people can freely express their sexual orientation and/ or gender identity without fear or prejudice. Sadly, despite recent changes in equality laws, LGBTQ+ residents continue to experience discrimination in their everyday lives, including in relation to their housing.
The HouseProud Pledge has been designed to help housing providers work with involved LGBTQ+ residents and foster positive relationships and provides a framework to do this. By working with our customers to complete the Pledge over the next 12 months Irwell Valley Homes will ensure that LGBTQ+ residents can have input at executive/strategic level. The Pledge will help us increase LGBTQ+ visibility to our customers, colleagues and stakeholders. We will initiate a programme of staff training to improve understanding of LGBTQ+ lives. If you would like to know more or would be interested in helping us on our journey, we'd love to welcome you on our customer E&D group.
The Armed Forces Covenant
The Armed Forces Covenant is a national commitment to those who protect our nation and who do so with honour, courage, and commitment. This includes, those still serving, those who have served, their families, the injured and the bereaved.
By signing up to the covenant we promise to offer the Armed Forces communities, access to fair and equitable services and support.
This is a national pledge so we join all 407 local authorities and many other organisations in mainland Great Britain in signing up to show our support too.
We recognise the struggles and difficulties that veterans and serving personnel may face, either during their time in service or when they return to civilian life in relation to:
- Education and family well-being
- Finding a home
- Starting a new career
- Access to healthcare
- Financial assistance
- Emotional support
Our pledge sets out how we aim to help and support in these areas where we can. You can read about our commitment here.
Our gender and ethnicity pay gaps
At Irwell Valley Homes everyone’s welcome here. Our culture is inclusive, and we are committed to increasing diversity. We enable everyone to be themselves at work so that they feel at home with us. And we trust and support people to do their best, in a role that is fulfilling and rewarding because we know that this helps us to deliver better outcomes for our customers and our colleagues.
We encourage our colleagues to confidentially share their equality and diversity information with us to ensure everyone is treated fairly, that they have the opportunity to support and progress so that we can make our workplace safe and welcoming for everyone.
We are delighted to be able to share both our gender and ethnicity pay gaps with you.
Kind regards,
Sasha Deepwell