Equalityand diversity

Equality and diversity

Our aim is to create homes and neighbourhoods we can all be proud of, and we want to do this in a fair and responsible way.

In an increasingly diverse world we must understand people’s differences. By doing this, we can develop and make changes to our services and be confident that everyone has fair and equal access to them.

As part of our efforts, we've signed up to the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Equality and Diversity Charter. This means we are committed to the following eight principles:

  1. Equality and diversity is driven from the top 
  2. Equality and diversity informs our business planning 
  3. Equality and diversity shapes our organisational culture 
  4. Equality and diversity is supported through staff training, development and engagement 
  5. We know who our customers are 
  6. We involve our customers in shaping and scrutinizing services 
  7. We represent the communities which we serve 
  8. We support the communities which we serve 

We're also a member of the Manchester LGBT Housing Group. This was set up to look at what happens for LGBT people in housing in the Greater Manchester area. This group has produced a guide on housing rights for LGBT people over 50 in the North West.

Our accreditations and certifications

Our employer accreditations and certifications:

We're committed to embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do. We participate in a number of external programmes and charters to set standards, drive improvement, and demonstrate our commitment:

Our 'Disability Confident Committed' badge.

We're a Disability Confident Committed Employer:

You can tap here to learn more about Disability Confident.

Our 'We are a Living Wage Employer' badge.

We're a Living Wage Employer:

We’ve voluntarily paid people more than the real Living Wage for years, and we've been officially recognised as a Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation since 2018.

You can tap here to learn more about the Real Living Wage.

Our 'Member of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter' badge.

We're a member of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter:

This highlights our commitment to a supportive and inclusive workplace. By looking after our colleagues, we also support them to provide the best service we can to our customers.

You can tap here to learn more about the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.

Our LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge badge.

We’re proud to support the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge:

This is a vital initiative by HouseProud and Stonewall Housing that champions equality and inclusion for LGBTQ+ residents in social housing. By signing up, we’re joining others across the sector in committing to real, measurable change – not just words.

The pledge helps ensure LGBTQ+ people feel safe, respected, and visible in their homes and communities. Together, we're creating spaces where everyone can live with pride and without prejudice.

You can tap here to learn more about the pledge, see case studies, and find out how to get involved.

The BOOST Leadership Programme logo

We participate in the BOOST Leadership Programme:

The BOOST Leadership Programme is a collaborative initiative led by Greater Manchester Housing Providers and Manchester Metropolitan University, addressing the underrepresentation of ethnically diverse colleagues in leadership roles. Focus areas include mentoring, change projects, and cultural transformation to create inclusive workplaces.

You can learn more about the BOOST Leadership Programme by tapping here.

Our Gender Pay Gap statement

Tap the link below to read our Gender Pay Gap Statement (updated March 2025):

Gender-Pay-Gap-Statement-March-2025-[pdf]-176KB

The Gender Pay Gap shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high Gender Pay Gap, this can indicate that there may be a number of issues to deal with.

The Gender Pay Gap is different from equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a man or a woman.

For this report, hourly pay is calculated using base pay, allowances and bonuses paid in the relevant pay period as defined in the regulations.

Noel Sharpe, our Chief Executive, says:

“We confirm that our data has been calculated and interpreted according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and the Gender Pay Gap Information Regulations 2017.”

Equality Impact Assessments

As a social landlord we ensure that all of our policies are fit for purpose. This means that they are all subjected to a fair review and Equality Impact Assessment with the Equality Impact Panel, which is made up of customers.

The review on each policy is thorough and identifies 13 different characteristics. These are the legal protected characteristics that legally we would also commit to, but we have also identified other characteristics that ensure that all of our customers are protected.

The review of the policies allows for customers to have a say in how the business operates and the policies that impact the lives of all our customers.

We thank our Equality Impact Panel for their input and their continued support to ensure that Bolton at Home is run as it should be, and that the customers are our first priority as shown in our Equality Impact Assessments.