Co-op launches 9-point plan to increase social mobility

Co-op is taking action to break the ‘Class Ceiling’, as new research has found that a significant number of people believe that what they achieve in life is dictated by their background.

The research, conducted by ICM on behalf of Co-op, looks at the experiences, life chances and impact of social mobility on young people and adults across the UK. Over two-fifths (41%) of young people believe what they achieve in life is determined by their socio-economic background. Over a third (34%) feel it is determined by where they come from, and a quarter (25%) see it being determined by their race or ethnicity.

In a UK private business first, Co-op has undertaken research with Making The Leap, a grassroots social mobility charity, to capture the diversity of views and experiences of Lower Socio-economic Background (LSEB) individuals across work levels, business areas, and a range of personal characteristics within the Co-op. 

In light of the research, Co-op is introducing a nine-point business plan on social mobility, which includes creating an internal social mobility taskforce to work through the findings of the research, making changes to internal job adverts, continuing with plans to improve its financial wellbeing offer to help colleagues be more financially resilient and establishing a new mentoring scheme for colleagues from lower socio-economic backgrounds (LSEBs), with mentors from LSEBs.

In moves to break the ‘class ceiling’, Co-op has set out plans to ask the Government to make socio-economic background a protected characteristic, and will look to publish a socio-economic class pay gap report in 2024. Through this work Co-op intends to elevate socio-economic background as a characteristic that should be considered alongside gender, ethnicity and disability.

The campaign by Co-op comes as almost three quarters (72%) would support a change in the law to make it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their socio-economic background, rising to over four fifths (85%) of 16-25 year olds.

Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of Co-op Group, said: “Too often our life chances are defined by things outside of our control – be that gender, ethnicity, disability or socio-economic background. It cannot be right that those from less advantaged backgrounds are almost twice as likely to end up in working class jobs than others from more privileged backgrounds. It’s a question of fairness. 

“Our evidence shows socio-economic background can act as a brake on progression and performance – this has to change. We want to lead by example, taking action to identify where unfairness is holding our people back. That’s why we’ve announced a range of measures today to break through these barriers.”

Tunde Banjoko OBE, CEO of Making The Leap, said: “Every business and institution in the UK must embrace the challenge of social mobility if we are ever to move the dial, and high-quality evidence is essential to inform meaningful action. We were therefore delighted to conduct this in-depth study for Co-op, which highlights the great progress it has already made as well as key areas to improve.

“To its great credit, Co-op has not only commissioned and published this research, but most importantly, it is using its employees’ views and experiences as the foundation for commitments to real change.”