‘Inclusivity Hackathon’ updates on the wokeness...

[QueenArseClangers]

I posted a while ago re this event I’m at today.
I’ll be data gathering re the amount of time dedicated to different inclusivity themes (and whether the LGBT centres on the men and the T).
It’s fairly busy and there’s already videos of Pride and the company’s involvement. It’ll be an interesting day...

All good so far! Our team are looking at challenges faced by part time working in the business.
All agreed that it’s likely to affect women and those with caring responsibilities. Chatting about removing barriers etc.

The ‘Sandwich Generation’ is being mentioned. Team member (who is quite senior) has said the idea of companies enforcing men to take parental leave and changing the culture of fathers making women the default carers is a good one.

What's sandwich gen?

Could they make paternity leave longer?

Ah yes found it.

That's a difficult one.

Juggling child care / illnesses and parental illnesses / appointments etc is v challenging.

I'd pick either the part time work one, and specifically make it all about how mothers are most effected and (use the phrase "sex based rights" a lot and mention the need to gather data about sex not gender") or the one about making things accessible for speakers of other languages/ESL employees, and flag up the need for clear easily understood language which isn't euphemistic, political, arcane, or overly technical (a great example of this could be, oh I don't know, "sex assigned at birth", "cervix havers", or "gender identity").

Post it notes at the ready.

nice

Well done!

You might like to add postits for maternity, age and religion, too. Just to show what actual inclusivity looks like, rather than selective inclusivity.

Good post it posting

The event organiser actually was pleased with my feedback. I explained why I’d changed it and she took note that gender was incorrect!

I’ve mentioned the Equality Act about seventy eight times too and women being over represented in the part time working demographic.
Barriers to progression due to mat leave and caring responsibilities have been talked about too.

No sign of that strawberry advert.

Go you Queen

A really good example of how women just being included can make things better for other women

Thank you, Queen - I always like to follow threads like this.

I'm a Co-op member and very keen on its ethical principles. Having said that, it needed some wonderful women to kick it in the posterior about equality between the sexes - great that you're keeping up the good work!

I find the Co-op's approach refreshing, particularly in the current climate. From your feedback they seem to be genuinely focused on creating an inclusive workplace rather than trying for woke points.

Thanks for starting this thread, QueenArseClangers.

Nice one OP - great updates!

Have they asked actual part time shop floor workers to attend these training sessions?

Most people on part time contracts in retail don’t want to be on them.

Is the Co-op taking on board USDAWs campaign around forced part time contracts or rolling shift patterns?

Both of these mostly impact women.

Also abuse from customers. On average a retail worker is abused by a customer over 20 times a year. And most retail staff are women.

Yep, participants from food store workers, Funeralcare, Legal, IT from top to bottom.
I’m rather impressed.

I really wonder why companies bother with these events when they won’t follow basic standards asked for by unions.

Over 90% of Co-op food workers feel unsafe on one to one shifts and 38% have been victims of armed robbery at work. The co-op management have made no changes despite the campaign around this.

And a quick google shows me that the co-op does operate on rolling shifts, which create huge problems for anyone with caring responsibilities.

So they already know what some of their major problems are, but they don’t want to address them, because that would cost money.

38% have been victims of armed robbery at work

Can't be true. Can't believe that. 38% of all Co-op staff in the whole of the UK?

I actually can believe that 38% figure. We have two co-op local corner shop type stores within walking distance of our house (naice area, high on lists for best place in the UK to live), and they have both been subject to armed robbery more than once in the past couple of years. I don't know why co-op more than other shops.

There was an armed robbery at my local Co-op last year so I am prepared to believe it. I live in a decent area.

I am not really sure that imposing paternity leave is the answer though because that approach is well-intentioned but erases the differences between men and women - there are physical reasons why women need more time off and women may want to be the main carer or the baby be more attached to her. She is after all the one who has grown the baby and delivered it to the world. It is also a bit like child-rearing will only be valued if we can make men do it too, and of course that means taking something away from women in a way. I do not really expect people to agree with me, I am not sure I agree with myself - there are just too many statistics which show that women end up still doing most of the domestic work whilst working so I am not convinced that paternity leave is the place to start. Men need to be stepping up way before that.

Thinking about it, co ops and post offices are the places I've heard of being involved in armed robberies too.