I can make a difference for Black communities in and outside work

Elaine Codrington, Portfolio Operations Manager, talks about her impact as part of the steering group for our Rise colleague network.

I joined Co-op 20 years ago, and in that time, I’ve worked across a variety of functions and roles before starting my current job as a Portfolio Operations Manager. I’ve been a steering group member of our Rise colleague network for 2 years.

The Rise network was created in 2018 to help build a supportive community for Co-op’s ethnic minority colleagues. As a network, we believe cultural awareness plays a huge part in creating a more inclusive working environment. One of the many reasons I joined Rise was not only to make a difference at Co-op, but to also change the outlook for my children’s future. A huge ambition, but you have to start somewhere!

Creating change at Co-op and beyond

I’ve been involved in some great things as part of Rise. I reverse mentor some of our senior leaders, and frequently join team calls to discuss topics like microaggressions and intersectionality. We host a read, watch, and listen club where colleagues vote on topics they want to explore more by reading a book, watching a film or documentary, or listening to a podcast. It’s a great way for colleagues to start their diversity and inclusion journey, and educate themselves at their own pace. It also provides a safe space where we can have difficult conversations.

For Windrush Day I wrote a fact sheet about my family’s journey from Jamaica to the UK and during last year’s Black History Month I wrote a story about my afro hair journey. I’ve also been involved in webinars and job fairs to showcase careers at Co-op and support our partnership with the Black Young Professionals network.

Time for change – action not words

Some of the progress we’ve made on our commitments since we announced them includes:

• Earlier this year we published our first ever ethnicity pay gap report, and we’re asking government to make reporting like this mandatory for businesses
• Our mean pay gap for ethnic minority colleagues has decreased from 3.1% (2021) to 0.9% and our median pay gap from -4.6% to -6.1%.
• We’ve increased the percentage of Ethnic Minority senior leaders in our business from 3% to 8% between 2020 and 2023
• Our mean pay gap for ethnic minority female colleagues has reduced from 16.3% in 2021 to 13.5% in 2023.

We’ve taken action and made some progress, but we are not complacent, and there is still much to do. We have aligned our anti-racism pledges with our holistic diversity and inclusion strategy with a stronger focus on intersectionality. This supports us to reduce inequalities and support broader inclusion goals without losing the focus on anti-racism.

The economic challenges that are impacting people and businesses everywhere mean it’s more important than ever for us to focus on building a more inclusive Co-op.