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Equality and diversity

Kids planting on our estate in Gorton

Strength in diversity

Affinity Sutton Group recognises that our strength lies in harnessing the richness of our diversity to innovate and create better housing solutions for our residents.  It has long been understood that the strongest teams include diverse ways of thinking, being and acting. 

We are proud of the ways in which diversity is already a way of life for us, for example, by having a diverse workforce, Supported Housing, Resident Involvement and Community Investment, but are also conscious that we need to improve continually.  There is no room in Affinity Sutton for anything less than full access, inclusion and participation by everyone from all backgrounds, which is why we are currently reviewing all of our Equality and Diversity policies and practices and setting some improvement goals in the following areas:

  • Equality Impact Assessments and Resident Profiling to ensure our services are being accessed by all our residents, including ‘Hard to reach Groups’
  • Employee recruitment, retention and career progression, including employment practices that reflect a modern, diverse organisation, and employee awareness training
  • Full participation in our Equality and Diversity programmes by every business within our Group, large and small
  • Clear guidelines for all suppliers as to the Equality and Diversity standards we expect them to meet to do business with us and what they can expect from us
  • Legal compliance with the Equality Act 2010
  • Policies in place that support a diversity culture (e.g.work life balance,  harassment and bullying, aids and adaptations)
  • Innovation and creativity – ensuring that all decision-making teams are as diverse as possible, reflecting different thinking styles, our client base and the society in which we live
  • Celebrating diversity to work at counteracting any fear around engaging with it.

Some groups are particularly ‘protected’ the Equality Act 2010, because they are more prone to discrimination than others (these areas include – Age, Religion and Belief, Sexual Orientation, Disability, Sex, Race, Gender Reassignment, Pregnancy and Maternity, and Marriage and Civil Partnerships).  We will be engaging with groups within our own organisation and among our residents, to ensure that they are not experiencing barriers to employment or access to our services.  Where we find anomalies, we will be putting programmes in place to address them. 

That does not mean, however, that ‘only’ people with protected characteristics are included in our Equality and Diversity strategy – on the contrary, it means that our intention is to create a level playing field on which everyone can participate freely in all that we do, and where the myriad ways in which we are diverse can be harnessed and celebrated.  While the company will do its part, everyone in the Affinity Sutton Group is responsible for Equality and Diversity, and we all have a role to play in ensuring that we make the most of its potential.