Our commitment to equality and support for LGBTQ+ customers

The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge is a scheme aimed at promoting inclusivity and support for LGBTQ+ customers in social housing across the UK.

The Pledge was developed by HouseProud in response to research conducted by the University of Surrey which highlighted the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in social housing, including feelings of exclusion and safety concerns.

The Pledge is delivered by Stonewall Housing, a national charity that helps LGBTQ+ people who are homeless or living in an unsafe environment.

The home is of central importance to LGBTQ+ customers, because it should be a place where people can freely express their sexual orientation and/ or gender identity without fear or prejudice.  Sadly, despite recent changes in equality laws, LGBTQ+ customers continue to experience discrimination in their everyday lives, including in relation to their housing. 

Research found that 60% of trans respondents did not feel that their neighbourhood was a safe place to live and one in five gay men reported modifying their home in some way (e.g. moving pictures or books) to hide their sexual orientation from a visiting repairs operative or housing officer.  A third of respondents also felt that their housing provider was not able to deal effectively with issues like harassment.

Signing up to the pledge is a commitment to inclusivity. We agree to implement practices that promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and support. This includes training colleagues to understand LGBTQ+ needs and ensuring respectful service delivery.

The pledge offers two levels of participation:

1)   Pledge Pioneer – to deliver three core commitments to foster engagement with LGBTQ+ customers.

2)    Pledge Pioneer Plus – following the delivery of these commitments, work with involved customers to co-design LGBTQ+ focused projects.

We must demonstrate measurable progress in key areas each year after signing up.

This year, we will be looking to gain Pledge Pioneer accreditation.

We will do this by:

1)    Increasing LGBTQ+ visibility at Karbon through our communications channels, including our website, social media, emails, magazines and annual reports.

2)    Giving LGBTQ+ customers a chance to have their say at an executive/strategic level through an involved customer group.

3)    Delivering online learning to colleagues that specifically addresses LGBTQ+ inclusion.

We have an Inclusion and Belonging Customer Hub where you can have their say about our LGBTQ+ work. If you would like to join, please get in touch.