Diversity in Action

1. Diversity in Action

2. Dorothy Francis Chair of Co-operative Diversity Action

3. There are more than 750 million co-operative members in over 100 countries 20% of Kenyans are member of co-operatives 23% of the Indian population belong to a co-operative 2,200 registered co-operatives in Ghana Credit Union movement brought to the UK by Jamaican immigrants

4. Why, given that co-operatives are committed to open membership, inclusion and participation, do there appear to be relatively few people from ethnic minority communities involved in the UK co-operative movement? What stops the strong and active membership evident in worldwide communities from being transferred to the UK? And why should we be concerned about this?

5. One reason is our values and principles – co-operatives are committed to equality, equity and voluntary and open membership and so should be at the forefront of inclusion and positive action

6. Another reason is the strong business case: • There are around 5m people in ethnic minority communities in the UK • Roughly 10% of the population • Spending nearly £300bn a year

7. Diversity relates to a wide range of areas: • Gender • Sexuality • Ethnicity • Class or socio-economic background • Educational background • Disability • NationalityThe focus of today’s presentations is on ethnicity

8. Co-operativesUK is using its role to: • Build on and share the positive work already being done to encourage people from ethic minority communities into co-ops • Encourage societies and other parts of the co- operative movement to work together to develop and share strategies and resources • Build skills, knowledge and expertise across the whole co-operative movement to engage with people from all communities.

9. Co-operative Diversity Action has been formed to drive this strategy forward in conjunction with Co-operativesUK Co-operative Diversity Action is a group of people either from ethnic minority communities involved in co-operative enterprise or people working to get ethnic minority communities more engaged

10. We are developing a website – www.diversityaction.coop that will provide a central place where people from across the co-operative movement, whether retail societies, housing co-operatives, co-operative development bodies, worker co-operatives or others, can come for useful resources.

11. The site contains: • Case studies • Examples of equality and diversity policies • Factsheets and guidelines from bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission • Reports and statistics • Action plans • Diversity strategies including those of retail societies such as the Co-operative Group and Midcounties

12. Co-operative Diversity Action is: • Facilitating networking to enable people in societies to share their experiences and knowledge • Attending BAME business fairs and events to promote the co-operative model of business • Working with BAME support organisations to promote the co-operative business model.

13. We want to work with members and staff of retail societies, support organisations, development bodies and other co-operatives to develop resources that will be useful for you, and to use and share the resources that have already been developed.

14. There is a lot of good practice taking place already and Co-operative Diversity wants to build on and share this good practice to help get more people from BAME communities involved and active in co-operative enterprises So, if you want to contribute resources, have ideas or particular needs, then please get in touch By working together we can create an even more diverse, more vibrant co-operative movement from which we will all benefit.

15. Sandra Kerr is the National Director for Race for Opportunity, a network of organisations from the private and public sector working and committed to race equality as an imperative part of their business agenda. Sandra formerly worked for the Cabinet Office advising Cabinet Ministers on diversity and policies on race, disability, gender, and work life balance across Whitehall. Sandra chairs an employment engagement group which advises the Government’s Ministerial Task Force on closing the ethnic minority employment gap. She also works closely with the Ministry of Justice and Department for Communities and Local Government to influence policy makers to ensure improved race diversity and equality in the UK.