Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity inclusion

Here at Merthyr Valleys Homes (MVH), we believe diversity and inclusion are more than just buzz words. They are the guiding principles upon which we build our teams, cultivate our leaders, and create an organisation where everyone feels comfortable bringing their authentic, whole self to work.

If you’re driven to perform, you’ll fit right in at MVH. We approach our work fearlessly, learn quickly, improve constantly, and celebrate our wins at every turn.

We encourage multiple approaches and points of view and are passionate about building a culture where difference is valued and the diverse voices of our employees and tenants are always heard.

Equally, we know this is a journey and there’s always more work to do. Read on to find out about some of the amazing initiatives we are involved with as an organisation

QED AWARD – QUALITY IN EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

The QED Award (Quality in Equality and Diversity) developed by Welsh housing charity, Tai Pawb, provides a comprehensive framework for improving the equality and diversity impact of an organisation. Awarded by an independent panel, it reports on strategic areas such as governance, leadership, and culture, as well as customer-facing service provision, including access and tenant involvement.

We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded Tai Pawb’s QED Award for two years running now.

We are really proud of this achievement as it demonstrates just how important equality and diversity is to us and our on-going commitment to getting it right.

“We are delighted to be only the second housing association in Wales to achieve the QED Award. In 2018, we started our QED journey which provided us with an opportunity to review our performance by providing a framework to benchmark our E&D approach against, to highlight gaps in our delivery and promote continuous improvement. The QED journey has been interesting, inclusive and extremely worthwhile. I feel our approach to E&D has greatly improved and we now have a clear strategy in terms of achieving equality in everything we do.”

Maria Lewis, Head of Community & Neighbourhood Services, and Chair of MVH’s Equality and Diversity Group

“We would like to congratulate Merthyr Valleys Homes on achieving the QED Award. The organisation showed real commitment to continuously improve their approach to equality and diversity through a mutual effort of staff and tenants. We were impressed by their Equality Group, which worked hard to make sure Merthyr Valleys Homes meets the stringent award criteria, backed up by senior management and the board.”

Alicja Zalesinska, Director of Tai Pawb

DEEDS NOT WORDS

We’re so pleased to have signed up to Tai Pawb’s ‘Deeds Not Words’ pledge, and you’ll find some of the key actions we have committed to below:

Mitigating the impact of Covid 19 on Black and Minority Ethnic Colleagues and communities
Adopting the Rooney Rule in all our recruitment exercises
Improving the ethnic diversity of our board and staff at all levels
Communicating and Engaging
Developing an Inclusive Culture

“Recent events have highlighted to us the significant role and responsibility we have in addressing racism and discrimination which have become systemic in our society. While we have always championed equality, diversity and inclusion, our stats show us we need to do more. We have already begun to use positive action to target underrepresented groups and have adopted the Rooney Rule which ensures that all Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates who meet the essential criteria for any vacancy are guaranteed an interview.

We are also aware that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic tenants are more likely to live in poorer housing conditions and experience overcrowding, and we take our responsibility to mitigate this very seriously. We know it’s not enough to simply sign the pledge, we now must act. We are currently working on our action plan to ensure our aims are realistic, specific, and measurable, and that we are held accountable. This plan will be made available here once complete.”

Disability Confident Employer

MVH is proud to have been awarded the Disability Confident Employer accreditation, which supports employers to make the most of the talents people with disabilities can bring to the workplace.

Over half of workplaces are missing out because they are excluding talented people with a disability. As a Disability Confident employer, MVH is committed to the following:

Communicating and promoting vacancies
Anticipating and making reasonable adjustments for those with a disability
Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work

“This accreditation will further help us to draw from the widest possible pool of talent. We are committed to being a Disability Confident Employer and continue to find ways of improving how we attract, recruit, and retain employees by removing barriers; ensuring people with a disability have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential. One of the key objectives for MVH is to increase the diversity of our workforce to better represent and therefore serve our local communities. Receiving this accreditation is recognition of just some of the efforts we are making to deliver this commitment.” Michelle Reid, Chief Executive

Welsh Language Scheme

MVH has adopted the principle that in the conduct of public businesses in Wales, it will, so far as is both appropriate in the circumstances and reasonably practical, treat the Welsh and English languages on the basis of equality.

We’re committed to ensuring that services are in place to meet the needs of people who wish to deal with us through the medium of Welsh.

We’ve prepared a Welsh Language Scheme outlining how we’ll operate the principle of providing services to the public in Welsh.

If you want to find out more about the scheme, please contact Allison Soroko – Head of Engagement and Ownership, on 01685 727768 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Language Line

We’re a member of Language Line – a 24-hour telephone interpreting service. Language Line has access to qualified interpreters in over 100 languages, enabling us to get an interpreter on the line in minutes to help us respond to your query.

If you’d like any information or documentation translated, or would like us to provide an interpreter, please contact us for free on 0800 085 7843.

We’re also able to provide communications in large print, audio or braille.

Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)