Negative trolling: Why racism never has a home in the housing sector

In June Housing Today published an interview about my view on the housing sector, discussing the steps I feel the sector should take to take meaningful action to increase racial diversity and awareness. It is a subject I’m passionate about, it is the core of my 'In my shoes' presidential campaign, and the topic I’ve spent my presidential year talking about.

Sounds like business as usual, doesn’t it? What made my Housing Today interview stand out was the scale and nature of the response when the article was posted on social media. The reaction online was a tale of two stories. On the one hand, the comments on the Housing Today Twitter post about the article were littered with racist, sexist and misogynistic abuse. On the flip side it showed the amazing support and collective strength of the housing sector, that quickly rallied to express their outrage at the disgusting comments on display - to my housing colleagues that offered their words of support and outrage at the vile messaging, I thank you.

Unfortunately, this situation isn’t a one off.  Rather depressingly it is normal. The most surprising thing, to me, is that it hadn’t happened sooner. I always knew the topic of my campaign – the lack of ethnic diversity in the boardrooms of UK housing organisations – would be uncomfortable for some people. The comments that appeared, their content, and volume are the tip of the iceberg of the everyday racism experience by people like me on a daily basis. The trolling is reflective of the kind of online bullying targeted at anyone attempting to challenge the status quo. 

Comments like these shouldn’t be normal. No one should have to live their life expecting racist abuse and undertones to appear. Which is why campaigns like 'In my shoes' are essential. It is vital that as a sector we go above and beyond to ensure our residents, contractors and the people that work in housing know that housing is a safe place where racial diversity is encouraged, welcomed and racism is not tolerated.

As a sector we need to elevate our diversity. We need more than policies. We need action and implementation. We need to show our residents, our teams, all our stakeholders that we are truly diverse and welcoming. How do we do this?

First, we need to continue to talk about racial diversity. We must continue to advocate for increased racial diversity. We must represent and continue to make space for people to share their experiences. We should not be afraid to say what needs to be said and ask the difficult questions. Additionally, we need to think about how we are recruiting our staff, where we advertise, who’s on the interview panel, who is being encouraged to apply, what requirements are exclusionary, who are the role models, what kind language is being used, and how we are being ‘represented’, visually, verbally and otherwise.

The Housing sector is a diverse sector. However, at leadership levels we are not so diverse. I should be able to make this true and obvious statement without being on the receiving end of racist and sexist abuse. Representation matters, at all levels. Making this happen is part of how we demonstrate that our sector is a as the truly welcoming and safe place to be.