The challenge

Although figures published in March 2017 show that 40.7% of board members of co-operative retail businesses are women, compared to only 19.6% of the FTSE 250 and 26% of the FTSE 100 , the co-operative movement knows a great deal more needs to be done.

The research

The Co-operative Women’s Challenge was launched in 2011 with the aim of ensuring that women are fairly represented at all levels of co-operative businesses. 2017 has been a brilliant year for new activity and research conducted by the Co-operative College and commissioned by Co-operatives UK.

This research, conducted by Natalie Bradbury, demonstrated how powerful evidence can be when it is captured and disseminated in innovative ways. Natalie interviewed women at all stages of their careers, seeking examples and ideas of what the co-operative movement can do to support, encourage and empower co-operative women as professionals, members and leaders.

You can see more on the research here