Central Co-op has a culture that both encourages and celebrates Difference Makers across the Society – including annual Difference Maker Awards and ongoing recognition for the brilliant value they bring. The colleagues featured below embody the spirit of this culture by bringing about a step change for inclusion and diversity in the workplace to be expanded upon for the future.
In celebration of the excellent results they have achieved, this selection of passionate colleagues have been highlighted in the Women to Watch & Role Models for Inclusion in Retail Index 2023 produced by Diversity in Retail in partnership with The MBS Group.
The Index celebrates Sarah Dickins, chief member, customer, and people officer, who is the exec sponsor for inclusion and has been recognised in the Women to Watch index. The inclusion delivery group play a key part in Central Co-op’s inclusion agenda, and the role models recognised in the group include Naomi Smith, Kiran Bhogal, and Samantha Thompson. Naomi, Kiran, and Samantha have all made such a difference and worked tirelessly on our ‘Educate and Celebrate’ inclusion plan to engage every colleague across our Society in being more inclusive.
Central Co-op is committed to inclusive leadership teams and this year, we have invested diverse talent programmes including Global Women Leaders, Ethnic Senior Leaders, and Ethnic Future Leaders. These are unique, comprehensive, cross-industry programmes designed to provide a series of experiences and learning opportunities to support career progression, run by WiHTL who are dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive environments.
It is also working to become accredited as a Fertility Friendly employer, having recently launched enhanced policies for Fertility Treatment and Pregnancy Loss, and embraced equity at the International Women’s Day event this year. This featured workshops about equity and menopause, along with talks from Dame Margaret Beckett, Britain’s first female Foreign Secretary, and Dame Pauline Green, having made history as the first female Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK.
The Society also shows its solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities through attendance at PRIDE events across its trading area, as well as internal educational activity throughout PRIDE month such as information guides, a Webinar to encourage understanding of purpose of PRIDE, and a Podcast shining a light on the journey to parenthood for the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, colleagues have shared their personal PRIDE stories.
Diversity in Retail is devoted to increasing diversity and inclusion across Retail, amplifying the impact of individual diversity initiatives and supporting companies across the retail industry to create diverse and inclusive environments.
