News

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the theme “Give to Gain”, recognising the power of sharing time, knowledge and experience to help others grow, strengthen our organisation and improve the services we provide to residents.

We asked some of our female employees about their achievements in Housing and their opinions on the Give to Gain messaging for this year’s campaign.

Liz Stockton, Customer Services Manager, has been with us for 12 years. During that time, she has seen first-hand how empowering women helps create a culture, across the organisation, where people can thrive.

“It’s so important to support and empower women at Fairhive to ensure that they are given opportunities to progress into senior roles. We’re fortunate to have some fantastic role models in our Senior Leadership Team, who have inspired me to continue to develop myself.”

For Liz, mentorship has played a pivotal role in her career journey. When she reached a point where she felt she needed a new challenge, the support of our Assistant Director of Housing helped her rediscover her direction.

“Heledd helped me to recognise my strengths and my areas for development, and gave me opportunities to push me out of my comfort zone. I know it was no coincidence when I was asked to step into situations I hadn’t been exposed to before.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, housing providers across the country had to rapidly transform the way they worked to continue supporting residents.

“We had to adapt overnight. The support from my manager, and the confidence she had instilled in me prior to this, meant I had the resilience and positive attitude to thrive and to support my team to thrive, during a very challenging time.”

The experience highlights how giving time, trust and belief to others doesn’t just benefit individuals, it strengthens entire teams and ultimately improves the service we provide to residents.

For Kate, our Communications, Marketing and Partnership Manager, having a female mentor has been invaluable, not only for career progression, but for personal growth and confidence.

Being able to openly discuss lived experiences created a safe and empowering space to explore what progression could look like. Seeing a woman successfully navigating leadership helped make those ambitions feel tangible and achievable. The mentorship also provided practical, honest guidance on developing an authentic leadership style, one that feels both effective and true to who she is.

Kate speaks candidly about the ongoing challenge of imposter syndrome and self-doubt, something many women experience in professional environments. Having a mentor offered reassurance, strategies to assert professionalism in meetings and stakeholder settings, and advice on navigating leadership within social housing.

Throughout that support, Kate feels better equipped not only to progress in her own career, but to build a more inclusive, empathetic and effective team around her.

Liz now lives the “Give to Gain” theme through her own leadership. Throughout her career at Fairhive, she has managed several apprentices and continues to mentor and support the Customer Services team every day.

“It’s so rewarding to share knowledge and experience and to help someone develop their skills as they progress. I love seeing the outcomes we achieve as a result of a well-supported team.”

By investing in each other, championing female leadership and creating space for growth, we build a stronger company, one that is resilient, inclusive and focused on delivering excellent services to our communities.

To find out more about this year’s theme, please visit the International Women’s Day website.