By Cym D’Souza, former chief executive of Arawak Walton Housing Association and vice-chair Manningham Housing Association

I came to England at the age of six, having never felt the cold, experienced snow or even seen a TV! I cannot say, however, that it was a joyous occasion.

On reflection, whilst my parents weren’t rich, we had lived in a good-quality home and I received a good standard of education whilst in India. However, my parents wanted to improve their lives and believed coming to England was the way forward. Coming from a Commonwealth country, my parents were entitled to come to the UK and in fact were positively encouraged by the British government, who needed workers.

However, as immigrants we weren’t entitled to council housing and the private rented sector mantra of ‘no dogs, no Blacks, no Irish’ meant homeownership was the only option. Hard-won savings were spent on a late Victorian two-up, two-down, with no money left to carry out the refurbishments needed.

To make matters worse, the jobs on offer seemed to consist of low-level work in the local hospitals, cotton mills and public transport. My dad had been an ICI engineer and my mum had worked as a private secretary. Eventually, my dad got a job as a bus conductor and my mum got a job as a typist.

The unfairness of it all for an Asian child growing up in a predominantly White (at the time) mill town where you could never seem to fit in followed me through most of my young life. I probably didn’t have a word for it at the time, but the spectre of racism in terms of the colour of the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ was present in every sector, especially in terms of where people sat in the hierarchy of work.

How does that reflect on my career in housing, you ask? Well, it doesn’t, not initially. I actually went down the career path of accountancy, following in my cousins’ footsteps. However, I felt unfulfilled and somehow wanting, in terms of the values of fairness and equity that I was developing over this time.

Roll on another 15 years and I finally got my first job in housing. More importantly, it was also the time when the BME housing sector was at its strongest, just after the 1980s race riots when, finally, strong legislation (or so it seemed) ensured equal (not quite the same as equitable) access to good-quality education, work and housing. In the housing sector, grants were made available not only for refurbishing unfit housing and developing new-build homes, but also to promote and support embryonic BME associations.

Although I predominantly worked in the mainstream housing sector for most of my early years, I was soon asked to join the board of a BME association because of my finance experience. At last, I felt that my values around fairness and equity had found an outlet. The riots had highlighted the level of discrimination faced by people of colour, even those second and third generations born in this country. Worst of all, research evidenced the shorter lifespans of those living in poor-quality housing. It seemed to me that here was something we could put right, as a values-driven sector.

Efforts were also put into correcting the disparity of BME people working in housing, often at very junior levels compared to their White counterparts, through positive action initiatives.

At that time, the BME movement was a force for change and life seemed to be moving in the right direction in terms of achieving a multi-cultural, equity-driven society. I felt I had found my vocation.

However, as time went on there was a sense that the ‘job is done’ – grants were reduced and, as a result, support for the BME sector waned. To be fair, the grant system for general housing has continued to reduce year on year. New social housing has become a scarce commodity, being replaced by the term ‘affordable’, which is definitely a misnomer for the majority of people in low-paid jobs.

As the former CEO of Arawak Walton HA, I’m rightly proud to have worked initially with the great founders who fought so hard to ensure that Arawak Walton remained strong and independent, a voice for those in society who have no voice. Along with many other BME housing organisations, we led the way, as role models for delivering culturally designed homes and culturally sensitive services. Young BME people were inspired to come into housing to work and have gone on to have successful careers, albeit not always through staying in the housing sector.

It’s clear, perhaps due to the watering down of legislation and regulation, that in so many ways we’ve still not achieved our ambitions to end racism. Black and minority ethnic communities still tend to live in the poorest quality housing, are not seen at executive levels in mainstream housing, and sadly have the worst health outcomes (as evidenced by Covid).

I believe we must continue to fight for fairness and equity. If the diverse community that is Britain is to achieve cultural harmony, then the starting point must be for the sector to deliver access to good-quality housing for all. The cornerstone of aspiring to a good life always starts with a safe, decent house that one can be proud to call home.

That’s why, despite retiring last year, I continue to work in housing through my board roles in organisations whose ambition it is to deliver that mission.