Session overview

We talk about diversity on boards a lot. But are we asking the right questions?

A diverse board isn’t a tick-box exercise — it’s a strategic necessity. The communities housing associations serve are complex, varied, and often underrepresented in the very rooms where decisions about their homes and futures are made.

Join us for a provocative and practical session with Simon Fanshawe OBE writer, broadcaster, co-founder of Diversity by Design and Chair of Hexagon Housing Association as he challenges us to think differently about what a genuinely diverse board looks like, what it’s actually for, and how we get there.

This isn’t a session about aspiration. It’s about action. Come ready to be challenged, to share honestly, and to leave with something concrete you can take back to your organisation.

What the session will cover

Here are the questions we’ll be discussing:

• Why diversity? What’s the real case — beyond compliance and optics — for a diverse board in social housing?
• What do board members need to bring? Skills, lived experience, challenge — what’s the right combination?
• What is the board actually for? If we’re unclear on purpose, how can we be clear on who should be around the table?
• What kind of difference makes the difference? Not all diversity is the same — what is the specific combination of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences that drives better decisions?
• How do we build the pipeline? What should organisations be doing right now to develop the next generation of board member talent — before the vacancy appears?

What you’ll take away:

• A sharper, more compelling answer to the “why diversity?” question
• A clearer framework for what good board composition actually looks like in a housing context
• Practical ideas for widening your talent pipeline that you can start implementing immediately
• Honest reflection on where your organisation might have blind spots — and what to do about them
• Connections with peers across the sector who are grappling with the same challenges

About our Speaker

Simon Fanshawe OBE is one of the UK's most respected voices on diversity, inclusion and organisational change. He co-founded Diversity by Design who support organisations to create ‘a diversity case for their business’ with clarity, confidence and change.

He hosts the top ten business podcast Fearless Diversity with Rachel Cashman.

In 1989, Simon was one of six co-founders of Stonewall, the equality campaign that helped shape the legal journey towards equal marriage. His 2021 book The Power of Difference was named the Chartered Institute of Management's Book of the Year in 2023, and HR Magazine inducted him into their Hall of Fame that same year. His 2024 report Flying Flags and Ticking Boxes. What Went Wrong With EDI. And How Leaders Can Fix It offers an examination of where EDI has stalled and what genuine progress requires.

He currently serves as Rector of the University of Edinburgh, Chairman of Hexagon Housing Association and on the Board of Powerful Women. He holds an OBE for services to Higher Education and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sussex for services to diversity and human rights.

Who should attend?

This session is for anyone with a stake in how their organisation is governed and led, including:

• Board Chairs thinking about succession and how to widen the pool of candidates
• Existing board members who want to understand what a more diverse boardroom would actually mean in practice
• Chief Executives and Executive Directors who want a more effective, representative board
• Company Secretaries and Governance leads responsible for board recruitment and development
• HR and People Directors building leadership pipelines across the organisation
• Anyone in the sector who suspects their board doesn’t yet reflect the communities they serve and wants to do something about it