Overview
UNIFY was formed by people of colour to make sure the voices of diverse colleagues in the social housing sector are heard.
In 2016 staff network groups from founding members such as Clarion, Notting Hill, Peabody, Genesis, and L&Q came together to improve the under representation of ethnically diverse staff.
These colleagues formed a collective of staff network groups focused on celebrating different cultures and raising awareness of career barriers and other sector inequalities.
Since then we have adapted and evolved our approach as a volunteer group in order to scale and move forward.
Our Impact
In the last 7 years, we have delivered panel discussions on key topics such as social justice and how to improve leadership diversity in the social housing sector.
We have influenced strategy across the housing sector; in 2020 UNIFY consulted with CEOs from various housing associations to contribute to the ‘Diversity Pledge’. This was a pivotal moment for UNIFY as we were able to share lived experiences of our network members to help shape the pledge.
We listened to our network members, engaged with the wider sector and co-created bespoke events, sessions and workshops with partner organisations.
We provided career development opportunities by partnering with Gatenby Sanderson a Leadership & Talent Consultancy. Together we developed a leadership programme that truly equips colleagues with leadership skills, confidence, and most importantly access to career opportunities.
Our Reach
UNIFY has built a credible reputation, with many organisations spanning from Greater London, Southeast of England, Midlands and Greater Manchester all looking to partner and become members of UNIFY.
To continue our work within the sector, we are now moving towards a new model that will allow us deliver a more focused service and become more sustainable as a voluntary group.
The more we grow as a network, the more positive change we can achieve.
Our History
Our Teams
Get Involved
Become a UNIFY Member
Our members are crucial to helping us drive change. We’ve had interest from many organisation that want to work with us.
However, this year we are being selective with the organisations we work with and have limited our membership to 15 organisations. This is to ensure we are truly working with organisation that are action orientated and who genuinely want to support UNIFY in making a change.
Become a Corporate Sponsor
There is more work to do, and we rely on sponsors to contribute and work with us to make positive change in the sector.
We welcome support from selected organisations who demonstrate a commitment to improving diversity, equality and inclusion within the workplace.