Network Homes’ Rebecca Burton wins Supportive Colleague Award!
26 May 2023
We’re really proud that our Communications Manager, Rebecca Burton, has won the ‘Supportive Colleague Award’ at the second G15 Ethnicity in Housing Awards. She received the accolade at the special ceremony held at the Banking Hall in the City of London last night (Thursday 25 May).
Rebecca’s award recognises a minority ethnic colleague in a G15 organisation who is highly valued by their colleagues for the work they do on racial equality matters and for the support they show others.
Rebecca has worked at Network Homes for over six years and is passionate about equality and diversity. She co-founded, co-chaired and has played an instrumental part in our colleague Racial Equality Action Group (REAG) which aims to promote racial equality within our organisation and ensure we deliver on our 10 point plan.
Winning the G15 Ethnicity in housing supportive colleague award has come as a surprise for me but i am thankful and appreciate the recognition for the work i do around equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at Network homes. I'm so grateful to my colleagues who took the time to complete a nomination for me because without them i wouldn't have been in a position to be shortlisted to win
Rebecca Burton
Rebecca adds: “It's always been important to me that colleagues feel supported to speak up, challenge, or even grab opportunities that are presented to them that makes a difference for them on a personal level, and /or makes a difference for everyone in the workplace. It sometimes takes small steps to see a change and not everyone needs to be leading the way, but by supporting each other, it can open doors for other people to feel empowered to take a step with you.”
The G15 Ethnicity in Housing Awards are in their second year, and they’re organised by the G15 group of London’s housing associations and staff network UNIFY. They recognise and celebrate ethnic minority colleagues’ contribution and achievements across member organisations.
Renewing our commitments – G15 Ethnic Diversity Pledge 2023 Report
The G15 has renewed its commitments to improving ethnic diversity, particularly at senior level, in updating the G15 Ethnic Diversity Pledge. The updated G15 Ethnic Diversity Pledge sees members pledge to:
- We commit to be more ethnically diverse at all levels of our organisations
- We will collaborate to invest in and support our ethnic minority talent
- We will celebrate ethnic minority colleagues’ achievements
Since the last annual report, the G15 has continued to make good progress on achieving the commitments of the pledge. Almost 25% of G15 members’ Boards are from ethnic minorities, meaning that we are on target to achieve our pledge of 30% by 2025 – an increase from 13% in 2019. Forty-six colleagues are participating in the second cohort of the G15 Accelerate programme, a high-calibre leadership and development programme, supporting our commitment to invest in and nurture ethnic minority talent.
