About this pledge
Five years after launching the original Deeds Not Words Pledge (you can read our 5 year report here: 5 years of Deeds not Words), we recognise and celebrate the progress made in governance, recruitment, awareness, and partnerships in response to our call for action and the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan (ARWAP) 2030. Yet, systemic racism still affects our diverse communities – staff, tenants, and communities across Wales, with inequities in housing access, career progression, and lived experiences persisting — as shown by our recent sector survey.
With growing resistance to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work, staying committed to anti-racist action is essential. We must protect progress, highlight calls for justice, and ensure communities remain connected.
Deeds Not Words 2.0 is a bold recommitment to dismantling racial inequalities in housing. Rooted in lived experience and aligned with the refreshed ARWAP 2030, it shifts us from statements to sustained, practical, and intersectional action.
By signing this pledge, we commit to a shared mission: to dismantle racism in housing through bold leadership, meaningful accountability, and making real life impact.
The Pledge for 2025-2030
Stand against racism and harmful narratives
We will create safe environments for staff, tenants and communities, through:
- Enforcing zero-tolerance policies and practices with trusted, safe reporting systems for racism and hate incidents.
- Preventing and challenging scapegoating of migrant communities with facts, human stories, community and staff engagement, education or other relevant approaches.
- Regularly training and educating board, colleagues and (if relevant) tenants on anti-racism, unconscious bias and any other relevant topics.
Tackle racial disparities in housing conditions
We will work to ensure fair and equitable housing conditions for ethnic minority communities, through:
- Actively identifying and, where present, tackling racial disparities in any relevant areas, such as overcrowding, damp, mould, repairs, maintenance or homelessness ensuring prompt response to issues (stock holding organisations).
- Using our voice and influence to highlight and/or address racial disparities in any relevant areas such as overcrowding, damp, mould repairs, maintenance or homelessness (all organisations).
Advance fair representation and champion career progression
We will remove barriers for ethnic minority colleagues and open pathways to management and leadership, through:
- Applying inclusive and targeted approaches in recruitment to achieve change in hiring and reflect community diversity including positive action where possible.
- Offering mentoring, sponsorship or other career development opportunities and pathways tailored to support progression and pipelines to management and leadership roles.
- Support and Equip HR teams with the knowledge to navigate immigration rules fairly and effectively, helping to remove barriers to employment for migrants.
Use data and engagement to drive racial equity and diversity
We will improve how we use data and engage with communities to inform anti-racist action, through:
- Closing data gaps and tracking ethnicity data across:
- recruitment and all employee levels to ensure fair representation and progression (including preparing for ethnicity pay gap requirements)
- housing conditions, repairs and maintenance (where relevant)
- anti-racist, bias and other relevant training data
- Engaging, removing communication barriers and centering the lived experience and leadership of people affected by racism to shape service design and delivery.
- Information
As signatories to Deeds Not Words 2.0, we commit to:
- Reporting transparently on your actions and progress each year.
- Applying top level oversight and scrutiny of our anti-racist commitments at board/committee level.
- Defending and advance anti-racist work across the sector, even in a hostile climate.
- Collaborate across the housing sector to ensure every person in Wales can access a safe, decent and dignified home—free from racism.
Show your commitment to anti racism by signing the pledge.
Resources to help you achieve Deeds not words pledges:
Read the latest about this pledge
Deeds not Words pledge is supported and scrutinised by Deeds not Words panel – an independent panel supported by Tai Pawb.
The Deeds Not Words Panel is a vital advisory group made up of ethnic minority individuals with lived and professional experience linked to housing. Panel members play a crucial role in shaping the direction of the Deeds Not Words initiative by providing insight, challenge, and accountability to ensure anti-racism remains embedded across the housing sector.
Key objectives
The Panel is central to ensuring that Deeds Not Words remains rooted in authenticity, lived experience, and community voice helping drive practical action, challenge complacency, and create a more equitable housing sector for ethnic minority communities. Their voices help to:
- Inform policy and strategic decision-making
- Challenge existing systems, practices, and sector thinking
- Provide lived-experience perspectives on housing inequality
- Hold organisations accountable to their anti-racism commitments
- Influence meaningful and lasting sector-wide change.
Panel members
Gemma Watkins
Gemma is an experienced housing professional and a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing. She has worked in the housing sector for over 20 years both within a local authority setting and as a strategic leader within a community-based housing association.
Gemma is currently the Director of Operations at Merthyr Housing, and a Committee Member on the Performance Standards Committee at Valleys to Coast.
Gemma has been an advocate for improving diversity and inclusion within the sector and has been a mentor both for junior housing staff, first timeline managers and those aspiring to join Boards.
Gemma has a keen interest in organisational growth projects, community investment and is passionate about tenancy sustainability and delivering resident centred services.
Gemma established and led the Cardiff & Vale Welfare Reform network, Chaired Tai Pawb’s Deeds Not Words Panel and held several Board positions in the charitable and housing sector. She is also Chair of their Governance Committee and Board Champion for Equality. Gemma was the Director of Operations at Aelwyd Housing, having joined the Association as Director of Housing & Communities in 2020.
Gemma has a degree in Housing Studies, and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Public Sector Leadership and Management. She is a qualified project manager and has been an organisational lead for “Lean thinking and Lean reviews” to drive continuous improvement. For Gemma, Deeds not words is an important campaign within the housing sector, as it has brought a spot light to the reality that members of ethnic minority communities can, and do, have vastly different experiences of services compared to their perceived white heritage neighbours.
The experiences of ethnic minority communities shape their expectations of organisations and in turn their engagement with those organisations.
We have often applied labels to certain communities as “ hard to reach” but the reality is that in many cases, the organisations have found it “ hard to listen”.
Debjani Basu
I am an Extra Care Scheme Manager for ClwydAlyn Housing Association in North Wales. I have been in the Housing sector for just over 14 years based in North Wales.
I come from an ethnic minority group and the Deeds Not Words pledge resonates with me and connects me with a broader coalition to ensure Equality and address Discrimination in Housing.
As part of the DNW panel I would like to see Housing organisations demonstrate measurable efforts in leadership representation. Open and honest conversations need to take place within these organisations.
A good starting point is the Antiracism Training which in ClwydAlyn is being rolled out at all levels and I can already see how this is fostering Active Allyship and recognition of Bias.
I am excited about the future of DNW in housing and being part of the panel will provide the platform to face challenges and sow the seeds of better collaboration and progress.
Sanni O. Salisu
Sanni is the Asset and Decarbonisation Manager at Taff Housing. He is focused on advancing sustainability and operational excellence within the housing sector.
His committment to building trust and fostering forward thinking environment and initiative in housing has led him to join Deeds not words panel where he contributes efforts to address racial inequalities in housing.
He remains consistent in his dedication to social responsibility and inclusive growth in the housing industry.
Afshan Iqbal
EDI lead in housing championing board diversity through the pathway to Board project. She is commimtted to tackling housing inequalities, embedding anti-racism in practice which she demonstrates through her committment to Deed Not Words amomgst other leading projects in housing.
Aderinola Omole
Derin is the Policy Officer for EYST Wales’ Race and Housing Project, a project aimed at addressing housing inequalities experienced by ethnic minority communities across Wales.
She is committed to gathering evidence and amplifying lived experiences to ensure that policy and practice are informed, inclusive and grounded in real-life scenarios.
Her passion lies in ensuring that ethnic minorities have access to secure, affordable, and culturally appropriate housing, free from discrimination.
For Derin, Deeds Not Words is about turning evidence, advocacy, and intention into meaningful action. It represents a commitment to moving beyond acknowledging inequality and instead actively breaking it down whether by shaping policy reform, challenging discriminatory practices, or equipping landlords and tenants with the tools to create fairer housing experiences.
DNW reflects her belief that real change is measured not by what we say, but by the tangible improvements made in people’s everyday lives.
Deeds not words impact
Some organisations who have signed:
