Everyone at SNG is passionate about EDI and we want to be recognised as a fair and inclusive employer and landlord.
We’re aiming to build a diverse workforce which reflects the communities we work in, and we offer a range of services, and invest in those communities, to help people and their neighbourhoods be the best they can be.
We’re currently drafting our new EDI Strategy which builds on the foundations created by our two predecessor organisations.
Key themes so far include inclusion, leadership commitment, accessible training, employee empowerment, and cross-functional collaboration. The strategy will be guided by external insights and benchmarking.
We are an accredited Investors in People (Gold) organisation and share some of our other accreditations on this page.
We also have an active employee EDI Forum and employee-led networks which help us to identify and implement initiatives and changes to support an inclusive and diverse workplace, as well as service improvements for customers.
We run EDI training programmes and activities to support SNG colleagues and customers, including regular internal ‘Let’s talk about...’ education and awareness sessions. Our careers pages also say more about how we’re developing a positive and inclusive culture.
Leadership 2025
We've committed to adopt the Mayor of London's Five Point commitment to recruit BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) people:
- Report annually on key diversity statistics
- Set aspirational diversity targets
- Interview more diverse pools of candidates
- Develop the leadership pipeline – we are working with other G15 organisations on this
- Lead by example.
Racial Equality Action Group/REACH - Racial Equality Network
We’re bringing together these two active employee networks, which were set up to promote racial equality and are open for anyone to join.
Their achievements include:
- Being open and frank about racial equality – including discussion sessions so people have a platform to talk about racism at work and evaluate how we’re doing.
- Improving recruitment and selection processes to tackle racial bias - including signing up to the Rooney Rule (any BME candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a senior role, or other management roles where we consider there’s an imbalance in genders, will automatically get shortlisted for interview. We've also extended this to include female candidates for senior roles.)
- Adopting the Halo Code – making it clear that no black or mixed heritage employee with afro-textured hair should have to change their natural or protective hairstyle to thrive at work.
- Proactively raising awareness and increasing people’s understanding of issues – we share articles and blogs from colleagues about their experiences, so more people are aware of racial concerns and experiences that affect or influence black people and people of other races. We also actively celebrate Black History Month, paying tribute to African and Caribbean cultures and histories.
A Disability Confident employer
We are proud to have signed up to the Government's Disability Confident 
employer scheme and achieved level 3 accreditation – enabling us to act as a ‘champion within our local and business communities’. This scheme supports employers to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.
We are also a member of the Business Disability Forum - the leading business membership organisation in disability inclusion.
Disability and Carers Network
This employee-led group is for everyone interested in health and wellbeing at work, employees who have a disability or long-term condition, and carers of people with disabilities (as well as allies).
The group aims to promote being your authentic self in the workplace; create a safe and empathetic space; raise awareness of disability and chronic conditions through awareness days and colleague stories; champion a neuro-inclusive culture; promote the use of reasonable adjustments (for both colleagues and customers); give a voice to the SNG disabled community; and liaise with other key groups and individuals.
HouseProud Pledge
Network Homes were one of the first adopters of the Houseproud Pledge, a scheme designed to ensure Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ+) residents are able to enjoy their homes without fear of discrimination.
We've since gained HouseProud Pledge Pioneer accreditation which means we have achieved substantial progress in delivering three core commitments: having formal arrangements in place to consult with LGBTQ+ residents; visibly promoting our commitment to LGBTQ+ resident inclusivity; and initiating a programme of staff training to improve understanding of LGBTQ+ resident lives.
LGBTQ+ Group/LGBTQ+ Network
Our LGBTQ+ groups will come together soon but both are open to all staff, whether they identify as straight or as LGBTQ+. Their aim is to help improve the lives of LGBTQ+ staff and customers, and to celebrate the diversity of our staff.
Both groups are a key part of the wide range of activities we arrange to celebrate both PRIDE Month and LGBTQ+ History Month.
Encouraging aspirations
We are working to bring together the best of both of our predecessor organisations. This includes building on Network’s HARTbeat Aspire programme - supporting women in non-management roles to develop their careers, and on Sovereign’s active encouragement of women into trades and other roles where they may be underrepresented.
Women’s Equality Group/Gender Equality Network
Both Network and Sovereign have had established employee groups for several years, which we are now bringing together. The groups are open to all employees and are passionate and committed to promoting and improving equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace for women and all genders.
Gender and ethnicity pay gap reports
You can find our gender and ethnicity pay gap reports below. Please note that we’re reporting separately for former Network Homes and Sovereign Housing until 2026
Former Network Homes gender and ethnicity pay gap report 2024 [pdf, 2MB]
Former Sovereign gender and ethnicity pay gap report 2024 [pdf, 3MB]