Equality, diversity and inclusion statement

Updated May 2025

As an organisation we are on a journey that embraces equality, diversity and inclusion for all our customers and communities alongside the colleagues and teams that work across Hafod.

Accommodating difference, welcoming individuality, and creating positive environments where people can be their true selves and feel able to shine and flourish is essential for so many reasons.

Our mission is clear. We are about making lives better and putting our customers and communities first. These values are already essential and represent our ways of working and the delivery of services and homes for so many people.

Ensuring that there is a true shift towards breaking down some of the societal, organisational and for infrastructure traditions or norms that don’t go far enough in tackling inequalities requires challenge and focused attention and that is what we are committed to doing.

Neil Davies Hafod“I am delighted to be the Board champion for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within Hafod. Since joining the organisation in 2018, I have seen first-hand how Hafod makes lives better each day for our customers and colleagues and this can only be achieved if the organisation places equality and equity at its core.

“I believe that good quality housing, care and support services are only achieved by asking and listening to individuals’ desires, ambitions and needs and adapting what we do to deliver in line with these requirements.

“This page presents our aims and commitments to EDI and outlines how we are embedding good practice into everything we do – from service provision, to recruitment, data monitoring, training, raising awareness and much more. We are passionate and focused about challenging inequalities in our communities and workplace, making inclusion central to our strategic and operational plans.

“I feel it is important for us to challenge outdated structures, processes and system failures that discriminate any group in society.”

Neil Davies, Hendre Chair & Board EDI Champion

“We’re committed to creating a culture where everyone feels they truly belong; not just included, but respected, valued, and safe to be themselves.

“When people feel they belong, they bring their best—and that benefits all of us.

“Let’s keep building a workplace where everyone feels proud to be part of Hafod.”

A belonging approach means we:

  • Listening to diverse voices and lived experiences
  • Removing barriers so everyone can thrive
  • Embedding equity in how we work and make decisions
  • Fostering connection across teams and communities

Louise Protherough-Jones, Culture and Inclusion Lead

Our strategic aims

  • Enable a diverse and inclusive organisation where the status quo is subject to meaningful and constructive challenge to ensure inclusive practices are in place for customers and colleagues.

  • Enable a diverse and inclusive organisation which improves outcomes for customers, colleagues, communities and the wider society.

  • Play our part to deliver a positive shift in societal norms where structural inequalities are dismantled.

  • Take positive action by setting out an annual action plan and publicising the progress we have made.

Our commitments

  • Celebrate

    Promoting, championing and celebrating EDI

  • Embrace

    Removing bias and inequalities in our customer and colleague processes

  • Share

    Growing and learning about EDI together

  • Analyse

    Collating and publishing meaningful EDI data

  • Measure

    Be representative of our diverse communities

Our support

In 2020 we signed the Tai Pawb’s ‘Deeds not Words’ pledge and are fully embracing the Welsh Government Anti-racism Wales Action Plan as well as sponsoring the Pathway to Board and Get into Housing development programmes.

These pledges and programmes speak volumes to us, as they draw attention to the wide disparities in experience of ethnic minority communities in relation to their housing needs. As a housing provider we understand that housing is more than providing a roof over someone’s head, it is about providing people with the foundations so that they can thrive.

Harassment

Everyone has the right to always be treated with dignity and respect. We stand together in our belief that harassment, of any form, has no place in our organisation and will not be tolerated. Our fundamental value of inclusivity applies to our customers and communities, as well as to our colleagues.

Hafod have an ethos of equity. We do not tolerate abuse in any form. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you, or another, is the recipient of unwanted or unjust behaviours please report this to a Hafod colleague. We will act.

Read our sexual safety statement for more information.

Priorities 2025/26

  • Development of an intersectional inclusion strategy which combines EDI activity with cultural development work to create a culture of belonging.
  • Production and promotion of the Belonging action plan for all cross-functional activity within service areas for 2025/26.
  • Realign governance structure for Belonging workstream revisiting the portfolios and membership of EDI steering and delivery groups.
  • Pursuit of menopause awareness accreditation and disability confident leader status.
  • Creation of cross-functional colleague networks on a range of diverse topics to move equalities activity into the business and promote the Race, LGBTQ+, Disability and
  • Neurodiversity and mental health agendas.
  • Improving customer data sets to enable focused service provision.

Our achievements

  1. Reviewed EDI strategy against legislative and regulatory requirements.
  2. Published our ethnicity pay gap.
  3. Reviewed Pathway to Board programme with the sector.
  4. Implemented Recite Me accessibility software on our website to help customers navigate our website in over 100 languages.
  5. Board review of EDI incorporating Anti-Racism Wales and LGBTQ+ actions plans.
  6. Here for you customer support programme monitored by gender, ethnicity, vulnerability and other outcomes, which was nominated for a TPAS Cymru good practice award.
  7. Actively supported tenants suffering from hate crime.
  8. Set up menopause champions group and womens health network.
  9. Celebrated Time to talk Day and Menopause awareness week with knowledge raising activities.
  10. Launched In our words podcast series showcasing colleagues stories in relation to equalities issues.
  11. Developed and launched our improved EQIA policy and processes.
  1. Development of under-represented groups through our continued membership and involvement with the programmes below:
  2. Recruitment of under-represented groups
    • Customers involved in recruitment to ensure that we have a diversity of views
    • Obtaining our Sponsorship licence
    • Participation in Pride Cymru
    • Developed and agreed EDI data standards.
  3. Delivered EDI training for our Board and senior managers, including Welsh Government’s anti-racism training.
  4. EDI deep dive for Finance and Risk committee (following internal review).
  5. Creation of EDI action plan including ARW and DNW commitments.
  6. Development of the We are Hafod campaign using video and images to showcase our colleague diversity.
  7. Colleague conferences to build unity and energy around our mission statements and increase customer focus.
  1. Held an internal EDI workshop leading to the reconfiguration of our EDI steering group and delivery group, and the development of our second EDI action plan – we also shared the workshop with customers.
  2. Established a panel of customers to scrutinise our decision making on Physical Adaptations Grant applications.
  3. Presented an EDI deep dive to our Finance, Risk and Audit Committee, and invited all our Board and Committee members.
  4. Continued the use of Pathway to Board, Get into Housing and the Rooney rule which led to an increase of diversity in recruitment leading to tangible gains in colleague ethnic diversity and further improvements in our Gender pay gap.
  5. Launched the Hafod Domestic Abuse Policy for customers and colleagues.
  6. Developed and launched our EDI policy through consultation with customers and colleagues.
  7. Held an EDI colleague roadshow week, inviting external speakers on a number of equalities topics including gender identity, white privilege, mental health, gender equality in sport and improving board diversity. To ensure customers had the opportunity to share this learning experience, the recordings were made available and promoted widely.
  8. Became founding partner members of the Pathway to Board and Get into Housing programmes.
  9. Launched our EDI webpage giving us a central hub for all Hafod EDI resources and tools.
  10. Curating a library of EDI resources shared with colleagues and customers including launching our first menopause policy.

Deeds not Words

Get into Housing

Pathway to Board

Anti-racist Wales