Managerial diversity promotes good practice

I was interested to read the letter from an unnamed manager about the difficulties faced by black and minority ethnic people in being appointed to senior positions ('Glass ceilings are linked to racial equality issue', Inside Housing 21 October 2005).

Such discrimination should be recognised as unacceptable in an equalities environment. But employers should also appreciate that a failure to achieve a degree of diversity at senior management level is likely to impact on their effectiveness as organisations, as well as on the way that they are perceived externally.

An important lesson from a project recently undertaken by Campbell Tickell for the ODPM and the Housing Corporation was that local authorities that have no BME senior managers are often less effective at engaging with the community cohesion agenda. Quite simply there is a lack of understanding of the problems people have to deal with on the ground.

It is not, however, that there is a shortage of able BME or indeed women candidates out there for senior positions. This year we have managed recruitment exercises for a number of permanent senior management positions in housing associations. A majority of the successful candidates have come from BME communities, and a majority have also been women. All the candidates concerned were appointed on merit.

Beyond recruitment, however, it is about employers promoting an organisational culture that values diversity, and allows people of different backgrounds the opportunity and encouragement to develop and thrive.

Yours sincerely,

Greg Campbell

Director, Campbell Tickell.