Pushing the door open: leadership, representation and finding your voice in housing
From Yorkshire mining communities to the boardroom.
For International Women's Day, Sara Sheard, Executive Director of Business Operations at Bradford's largest housing provider Incommunities, reflects on carving out a leadership path in male-dominated environments and why visibility, authenticity and backing yourself still matter.
This blog post was written for Inside Housing Magazine.
From my very first job as a paper round girl to becoming Executive Director of Business Operations at Incommunities, I've always understood that progressing in traditionally male-dominated industries means pushing that little bit harder, speaking that little bit louder, and proving yourself that little bit more.
In my early twenties, stepping into a role as a HR Officer at Arriva, I was working in the heart of Yorkshire's former mining communities.
I remember walking through the overwhelmingly male staff canteen - most of the bus drivers were ex-miners - to reach the management offices, preparing to share my ideas to another room full of men. I could feel the unspoken question in their eyes: who does she think she is
In environments where you are visibly the minority, I have learnt to hold my ground, be authentic to myself and be the change I want to see.
Through my career, I have noticed a wider societal shift with more women represented at every level, including senior leadership. Progress is happening. However, when I joined Incommunities in 2021, having worked for 14 years at Mencap, it was clear to me that the housing sector still had a long way to go.
I've previously only worked in the third sector and private sector - housing was new to me. At one of my first housing conferences, I was mistaken for a male colleague's personal assistant rather than his peer. A small moment but a telling one which highlighted that seniority still looks and sounds a certain way to many people, and often, it's male.
Being under the leadership of a female CEO at Incommunities sets an important tone for our organisation. With a 53% to 47% gender balance at leadership level, and a -3.66% gender pay gap, we are proud that our business reflects the principle that “seeing is believing”.
Women often don't feel as qualified to apply for that next position as men do, but when they can see themselves represented at every level, including senior leadership, it changes what feels possible.
I can certainly say that's true for myself. At Incommunities, I have learnt through my relationship with my female peers to lead with empathy and authenticity.
As a leader, you don't want to stand up and talk about a strategy or an initiative and have people thinking, that doesn't connect to my world.
Job shadow colleagues, ask questions, stay curious. I often find myself in meetings asking: “But what does that actually mean?” It's easy at an executive level to get comfortable with language that feels distant to our staff and customers.