Trust Housing Association welcomed minister for housing and welfare Margaret Burgess MSP to a celebration marking its achievement in becoming the first Scottish housing association to achieve the prestigious Leaders in Diversity (LID) accreditation.

The accreditation was granted by the National Centre for Diversity which runs structured programmes to help UK organisations benchmark their progress in delivering practices that demonstrate an all-encompassing and effective approach to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

The minister joined staff and guests at a ceremony recognising the housing association’s success in creating a culture with a relentless focus on not only achieving but maintaining excellence in equality, diversity and inclusion. The LID accreditation follows Trust’s earlier success in becoming the first Scottish housing association to obtain Investors in Diversity in 2012.

Trust’s chief executive, Rhona McLeod, said: “We are honoured to welcome Housing Minister Margaret Burgess to this special event which acknowledges the hard work, energy and commitment of our staff which has been pivotal to Trust achieving Leaders in Diversity accreditation. We live in an increasingly multi-cultural and diverse society in which equality, diversity and inclusion issues cut across every team, every department and interactions with clients, business partners and the communities we serve.”

Trust recently became a founding member of the National Centre for Diversity’s new National Patrons Network, joining 15 other UK organisations in an influential new group committed to creating culture change in the UK workplace.

Minister for housing and welfare, Margaret Burgess MSP, said: “I would like to congratulate the Trust Housing Association on achieving the ‘Leaders in Diversity’ accreditation and acknowledge the hard work of all staff in obtaining this prestigious award. Diversity within the workplace should be seen as a strength that underpins all our employment policies and practices and positively affects us all.

“The Scottish Government maintains its strong ambition for equality and diversity. We value Scotland’s diverse and ethnic minority communities, the contribution they make, and the important role they play in enriching Scotland socially, culturally, and economically.”

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