Associations are failing BME staff

Too many housing associations are merely "marking time on equal opportunities" while some are "overwhelmingly complacent and indifferent", according to damning new research for the Housing Corporation.

The unpublished work has found that black staff complain of "deeply-ingrained patterns of institutional racism" within organisations, Very few black and minority ethnic staff were making it through to senior management levels in the mainstream associations surveyed.

Black staff were "more concerned about racism from colleagues than from tenants or members of the public", according to the researchers, writing in this week's Housing Today.

The research, set to make bleak reading for both the corporation and mainstream associations, follows the Macpherson report into the death of Stephen Lawrence, which concluded that housing organisations were not immune to the ÒdiseaseÓ of institutional racism (Housing Today, issue 123).

The research, carried out by a team from Salford university for the Housing Corporation, found "far too many" housing associations had "hardly any BME staff" - including large national associations working in areas with large bme populations. Despite this, very few had effective policies in place to improve the situation, and most "did not even appear to regard this as an important problem".

Black staff were largely "stuck in the bottom layers of the organisation" despite comparing favourably in terms of qualifications and experience with their white colleagues.

Black staff were most strongly critical of staff selection, promotion and appraisal processes, as well as a lack of a supportive culture for black and minority ethnic staff.

Federation of Black Housing Organisations director Harris Beider said the findings were "pretty awful". He added: "It does represent the tip of the iceberg as far as black staff are concerned. It certainly backs up what black staff have said to me and my colleagues."

"The message for housing organisations that have low levels of BME representation is that there needs to be a revolution internally in the way they organise themselves, a root and branch review."

Hexagon housing association chief executive Darra Singh, one of only two BME chief executives of mainstream associations, said the findings showed that the sector had a long way to go in ensuring black people were represented at all levels.

He said: "If it is the case that RSLs with large bme populations have hardly any bme staff, it is a strong reminder that those associations need to take more action."

National Housing Federation chief executive Jim Coulter said the research was challenging and should be taken seriously by associations.