Success Stories

National Housing Federation
EDI in Housing Conference

Here is an excerpt from our presentation on microaggression in social housing at the NHF’s EDI in Housing “Inclusive Futures: Driving Change Through Diversity” conference in March 2025.
We also had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion titled "Injustice and Racism in Social Housing: Being the Change We Need" with NHF Chief Executive Kate Henderson, Sovereign Network Group Chief Executive Mark Washer and Tower Hamlets Community Chief Executive Anita Khan.

Microaggressions in Housing: What They Are and Why They Matter.

Let’s start with the quiet harm—the things that aren’t shouted, but felt deeply.

Microaggressions. These are the everyday slights, subtle comments, or moments of exclusion that tell someone, You don’t belong here. They can be verbal, behavioural, or environmental. They’re often unintentional. But they land all the same.

In housing, they can show up in many ways: a tenant repeatedly asked where they’re “really from,” a resident’s accent mocked during a repair visit, a colleague’s ideas dismissed in meetings until repeated by someone else. These are not isolated incidents. They form patterns that mirror broader systems of inequality.

We use terms like microinvalidations, microinsults, and microassaults to describe the different ways these moments manifest. But at the core, they are messages—about who is seen, who is valued, and who is overlooked.

And here’s where we need to be honest: sometimes EDI initiatives themselves become part of the problem. When they’re performative—deployed as optics rather than commitments—they can silence the very people they were meant to uplift. Inclusion becomes something we market, not something we live.

That’s why this work requires courage. It’s not just about calling out individual behaviour—it’s about understanding the historical and structural conditions that allow those behaviours to go unchecked. It’s about recognising that housing, as a sector, has its own legacy of harm—discriminatory policies, racialised assumptions, and systemic barriers to safe, secure homes.

We can’t change what we won’t name. So let’s name it. Microaggressions are real. They’re harmful. And they demand more than awareness—they demand action.

The invitation here is to notice, to listen, and to respond. Because change starts not just in our statements, but in our smallest decisions—repeated, every day, with care.

What to know about microaggressions? Article by Dr. Derald Wing Sue M.S., Ph.D. Images from New York Presbyterian’s Health Matters Portal.

Everyday Leadership: Moving from Intention to Impact. 

Let’s be clear: leadership in this space isn’t about having the right words. It’s about how you lead when things are difficult, when harm has been caused, when the stakes feel high. Inclusion doesn’t live in a policy. It lives in how we choose to act, every day.

We talk a lot about structural change—but are we advocating for it through our policies? Are our procurement frameworks supporting equity, or simply reproducing familiar networks? Are our hiring processes actively removing barriers, or just complying with the minimum? Are we conducting equality impact assessments when decisions are made—not as a tick-box, but as a lens for accountability?

Because if the system isn’t working for everyone, we need to change the system.

And that means embedding inclusive leadership into the core of how we operate. Not just in strategy decks, but in how we set priorities, evaluate performance, and define success. Inclusion can’t be a side project. It has to shape how we make decisions, how we manage risk, how we serve our communities.

When we look structurally, we start linking EDI work to core functions—budgeting, hiring, governance—not just values statements. This makes inclusion a shared responsibility, not a separate strand.

Equally vital is embedding inclusive leadership into the values, strategies, and priorities of the organisation. It must be reflected in boardroom conversations, business objectives, performance metrics, and the behaviours we reward. It means shaping cultures where accountability, allyship, and psychological safety are woven into the fabric of how we operate.

Inclusive leadership is also about who’s at the table—and who gets to shape the agenda. Are we making space for different voices? Are we willing to be challenged? Because leading in this space isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being teachable, accountable, and open.

Impact, not intention. Action, not optics. That’s the everyday work.

Everyday Leadership Storyboard. Building structural change and embedding inclusive values, strategies and priorities in board governance and leadership.

Micro, Human-Centred Impact: The Power of Small Shifts. 

“Let’s Build A Better Future, Let’s Build Social Housing”
Shelter’s Campaign by Laura Jane Walsh

Change doesn’t just happen in strategy rooms or board reports. It happens in moments. Micro-moments. A decision to speak up. A pause to listen. A hand extended when someone’s been excluded.

Human-centred impact begins with empathy. When we focus less on explaining our intention and more on understanding our impact, we shift from defensiveness to responsibility. “I didn’t mean it like that” cannot be the end of the conversation. Instead, we ask: How did my words land? What harm may have been caused, and how can I repair it?

Inclusion isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present. It’s about choosing to create safety in a moment that might otherwise breed shame. It’s offering an apology instead of an excuse. It’s pausing to amplify the voice that’s often interrupted, misinterpreted, or dismissed.

And it’s also about committing to dynamic diversity—a living, breathing concept that goes beyond who is in the room to how power, participation, and recognition are shared once they’re there. Diversity that simply replicates dominant norms isn’t dynamic—it’s cosmetic. True diversity evolves; it asks us to change the way we structure meetings, make decisions, and define leadership.

This is why the micro matters. Because the climate of inclusion is built through patterns of daily behaviour. One moment may not shift a culture—but enough of them, repeated with care, will.

So let’s start with the next moment. Speak with intention. Act with awareness. Listen with empathy. Because the path to systemic change is walked in small, deeply human steps.