Anyone who has completed equality, diversity and inclusion training is likely to have heard of ‘unconscious bias’, particularly in relation to any of the legally recognised protected characteristics which include race, gender, disability, and LGBT+ status. If this is a new concept to you, or you need a refresher, this link is a great place to start.
How does unconscious bias apply to social housing stigma?
Read any in-depth survey or research on social housing and you will inevitably see tenants refer to social housing stigma. Indeed, the most recent Housing Ombudsman spotlight report on ‘Attitudes, Respect and Rights referred to “assumptions” landlords make about their tenants, and the Grenfell report talked about the “othering” of social housing tenants.
When reading these difficult truths, it’s easy to assume that social housing landlords don’t care or aren’t putting the effort in to make sure this type of stigma is quashed. I don’t believe this is the case. However, I do believe we don’t have our focus in the right place.
Most colleagues work in social housing because they care, and they want to make a difference. They believe in social housing and are usually trying their best with the resources they have. However, until we place more emphasis on unconscious bias, stigma will continue to seep through the cracks, and we won’t be doing anything to address it.
How addressing unconscious bias will make a difference
Since the Grenfell disaster, the government has been working hard to tighten regulation around social housing, making sure tenants are heard and involved. The Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) ensure landlords get feedback from tenants in what we hope will be a fair and comparable way. Consider the following TSMs:
- Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them
- Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them
- Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect
- Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling complaints
While social housing continues to apply unconscious stigma to the living circumstances of our tenants, it will be impossible to get great levels of satisfaction in these areas. Unconscious bias affects the way we listen to people; we stop listening with openness and instead listen for things that confirm our biases. Naturally, this then affects the action we take. We can easily end up in a vicious circle that results in the tenant feeling unheard and their issues remaining unaddressed, even when they complain.
It’s the same story with the new Consumer Standards, especially Tenant Involvement and Empowerment. Even the word ‘empowerment’ can be fraught with difficulties as we constantly refer to ‘empowering tenants’ and ‘giving tenants a voice’ as if they are gifts for landlords to give which also means they could be taken away. But that’s a blog for another day!
How do we tackle unconscious bias and social housing stigma?
I have a few ideas on how we, as a sector, can tackle this issue, and here are a few:
- Awareness. Make sure your teams know about unconscious bias, how to acknowledge it and overcome it. Tentacles Consultancy can provide webinars or workshops to support. We include insights from people with expert, lived experience.
- Policy. Ensure your equality, diversity and inclusion policies include social housing stigma. It might not be a legally recognised form of discrimination but that doesn’t stop housing organisations addressing it.
- Recruitment. Make sure you involve tenants in the recruitment of ALL colleagues and that you address the potential for stigma at the interview stage. Set the scene early. Tentacles Consultancy offer a support package to enhance your recruitment processes, with practical support and training for tenants.
- Keep the conversation going. Talk about social housing stigma as often as you can. Negative messages about social housing are constantly seeping into our brains and a constant conversation will help your teams consciously combat this.
- Campaign widely. Social housing stigma is rife throughout our society. It is our responsibility to demonstrate the importance and benefits of affordable and secure housing to everyone, so we can change that narrative.
In short, we need to keep the conversation (and ideas) flowing to make that change.
If you’d like to know more about how Tentacles Consultancy can support your organisation to look at unconscious bias and social housing stigma, have a look at the website www.tentaclesconsultancy.co.uk or email info@tentaclesconsultancy.co.uk.
