Welcome to yourSummer EditionFeatures | Interviews | Tips | Networking

News | Development | Career | Inspiring

Role Models | Aspire | Respect

April - June 2016

21 pages of inspiring interviews and special features – including interviews

with Co-op's Vicky Haw and

Apprentice runner-up Claire Young

PLUS so much more!#IWD 2016

Pledge for Parity

Celebrating

• If you are a Co-op Group colleague and would like to become

a member of Aspire please email aspire@co-operative.coop with

your name, job title and role band. You will then receive all

communications about upcoming Aspire events and new editions

of our magazine!

• We understand that our colleagues are not all based in

Manchester, so wherever you are, whether in Store, a funeral

home, one of our support centres or even out in the field we

would like to hear from you.

• Also, if you would like to organise an Aspire event near you

please get in touch for support.

• Join the conversation by following us on Twitter:

@aspire_co_op

We'd love to hear from you!

welcome

Copyright © 2015 The Co-operative Group Ltd, all rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, all content in this publication isproperty of The Co-operative Group Ltd. Unauthorised duplication, copying and redistribution (either in full or in part) is strictly prohibited.

TO YOUR ASPIRE NEWSLETTER

What’sinside:4-5 Interview with ex Navy songwriter Vicky Jones

6-7 Shining Star Vicky Haw talks to Aspire

8-9 Exclusive interview with Apprentice runner up Claire Young

10-11 Celebrating International Women's Day #IWD2016

12 And the winner is...Aspire Woman of the Year Award

13 Women in Property: Spring Event Review

14 Maternity Leave Feature 2

15 A Brief History of the Co-operative Women's Guild

16-17 The terrible suffering endured in The Guild's Maternity Letters

19 Quiz

20-21 Job Share: Karen & Kathryn talk us through their unique working arrangement

23 Dining in Styal Aspire visits The Clink

An introduction fromEmma Barrettthe Chair of theAspire network

�⇥⇥⇤

3

⌅⇧⌃⌥�⌥ ⌦⌅�⇧⇤⇥⌅

↵⌅���⇧�✏�⇥⌅�⇣⇧

Hi guys, we are delighted to bring you this special Summer issue of Aspire Magazine! We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it!

Please feedback to us at

Aspire@co-operative.coop Copy Editors: Paula Barclay & Sharon Pegg

Writers: Sarah Robert's, Emma Barrett, Paula Barclay, Laura Mollard

Hi everyone,

Welcome to your summer edition of the Aspire

Magazine! This issue is all about celebrating women! On pages 10 and

11 we’ve recapped the fabulous International Women’s Day event we

held in March where we named Sarah Roberts our Woman of the Year!

One of the reasons the Aspire Steering Group nominated Sarah was

because of her commitment to supporting women in the male-

dominated feld in which she works (Property). Sarah, and her

colleague Samantha, set up the ‘Women in Property’ group to hold

quarterly networking events with guest speakers sharing their

knowledge and experiences. In April 1 Angel Square welcomed

Amanda Clack, the now President of the Royal Institute of Chartered

Surveyors, to the auditorium where she discussed how, as the property

industry gets more and more competitive, it makes sense for

businesses to look for a more diverse workforce and source talent

beyond the “pale, male and stale”!

We have also delved into the archives of the Co-op’s Women’s Guild to

show you how the Co-op was leading the way on many issues, one of

which being maternity care. As the issue of maternity and paternity is

huge for the working mums and dads in the Co-op, as a network we’re

focusing more on this. Keep your eyes peeled for some upcoming

networking events where, if you’re a mum or dad you can share your

experiences or, if you’re considering having children and want to ask

questions about maternity / paternity leave, you can ask them of your

colleagues and peers.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue. Please let us have any feedback

you may have by emailing aspire@co-operative.coop we’d love to

know what you think!

Ex-Navy songwriter Vicky Jones, talks to Aspire about her inspirational bucket list, her love of writing, and her experience of coping with depression. Vicky everybody has a Co-op story, can you tell us yours and what you love about the brand/organisation?

What I love about the Co-op is that is reminds me of my childhood. Where I live in Stanford Le Hope,

there is one and I would often go in it when I was ‘playing out’. I used to get the penny type sweets when I was walking home. I was always an outdoorsy kid. I love that now they fully celebrate

diversity. I’m not the conventional type of person, never have been. (I was the only girl who played football in my junior school, I used to be in the

Royal Navy and am genuinely into things that are a bit different). I used to think being ‘different’ meant that there was something wrong with you, now,

with companies like the Co-op helping, it shows that diversity is a strength, it makes people and places interesting!

You have a very interesting job as a Songwriter – how an earth do you fall into this profession?

Song writing, writing in general and also drawing are things I love doing. I’m a creative which is a blessing and a curse as inspiration can strike at the

most ungodly of hours and in the wackiest of places! (A few of my lyrics have been created when I was on watch in the Navy at 2am!) I remember

being inspired by Michael Jackson when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I used to read the lyrics to his ‘Bad’ album and wonder what exactly made the

songs hits. At heart, they are very simple, hooky melodies which is now how I write, there’s nothing complicated about my music. When I was younger, I wanted to sing in a band, but later on, I

realised I didn’t need or want to be on stage, I just had a passion for creating. I was more than happy for somebody with an equal passion for performing

to perform my work.

Vicky Jones I N T E R V I E W W I T H

In your bio you talk about going through depression. At the time can you talk about how you felt? And how did you cope?

Unfortunately, I went through a crippling

depression in my late twenties. I found it tough as normally I am a tough person, I had been in the navy and felt invincible, so when you go through

something like a mental illness, you feel weak. I now realise that it was because I was neglecting my needs. In my early 20s, I was living quite an

exciting life, travelling the world in the royal navy, living quite a carefree life. I left at 23-24 and found adjusting to civilian life really tough. I had no structure, no routine. I had a few dead-end jobs,

but luckily my passion for music kept me going and some good songs were recorded (Breathe Underwater, Born Again are just a couple that can

be heard on my YouTube). I got into a relationship

4

hoping that would lift me up, but looking for somebody or something to get you out of depression

isn’t the answer so I learned. You have to get selfish and put yourself first. It got to the point where I didn’t want to carry on, I isolated myself from everybody. I kept reading self-help books where they

would say ‘join a club’ etc. But the truth was, I wanted to be away from people. At first, I mentally made a list of things I could do where I wouldn’t

bump into people I knew as I just couldn’t face any conversation. I knew I had to get out of the house, so I would say to myself ‘that looks a nice place to

go for a walk’ when I drove past a park I hadn’t been in before. I then started to write down some things that I had always wanted to try no matter how silly or

crazy. I noticed that the first few I could ‘tick’ off without leaving the house. But when I started completing this list genuinely something amazing

happened. Excitement started to flicker again.

You have described that in your 30’s you wanted it to be all about adventure and decided to keep a bucket list. That’s quite a challenge. What types of things are on your list?

Before long, my list had grown into 10, 20, 50 then

over 100 things. I started to get serious about it. I heard about Bucket Lists and realised this is what it was. My Bucket List was born. I ordered books

online, looked on the internet for ideas that were purposely out of my comfort zone and things I wouldn’t even think of. I started to get excited about

being curious about everything! It felt like (within reason!) nothing was off limits! I think people thought I was weird when I first started mentioning it, but

then they gave me ideas and even joined in! As it stands there are 300 tasks and challenges on my

Bucket List. I was 30 when I started it (January 1st

actually with a neighbour coming over to wax my legs as I had never waxed them before!) and I said that I wanted to ‘live the bucket list life’ for a decade

and see how many I can tick off in that time. There are all kinds of things on my list, tasks that challenge me mentally (I have nearly finished a degree in Criminology and Psychology as that was on my list),

things that scare me (I held a tarantula as I am a real arachnophobe) things that take me to the most amazing places (my favourites so far are Alaska,

Iceland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hawaii, Los Angeles and Prague). I wished I had ‘forgotten’ to add ‘hold a tarantula’ that truly DID test me to my absolute limit!

You talk about writing giving you confidence, what advice would you give to people who also have aspirations to write. How can they get started?

I adore writing- anything! It stems back to the

creative kid in me. I’m more of a storyteller than being the best writer in the world though. I genuinely feel sorry for my English teacher at school

(Mr.Lawson) who used to mark pages and pages of stories I wrote! I have a very short attention span, I like my stories to

be moving constantly so that the reader or listener (if it’s one of my songs), never get bored. I think if

somebody wanted to get started in writing I think they should just do it then ‘edit’ later. Write about what you are passionate about and it will be the passion that carries people rather than writing what

you think will be popular. Because I’m so passionate about my Bucket List people comment on it a lot of how my enthusiasm has inspired them to come out

of their comfort zones. I’m writing a gritty, compelling book called Meet Me At 10 which is all about diversity, and I get a lot of messages from

people asking when it will be out just because they can tell I am so passionate about writing it. I definitely think it’s worth learning the basics, and

learning from the best. I dread to think how many hours I have been on YouTube watching interviews of how the greats write books and songs. As part of my

degree course, I was allowed to pick a course of my choice, so I picked Creative Writing which has helped me get the basics right. I also try to read a

lot too. This is where you pick up ‘how’ the writer creates tension, introduces characters etc.

Do you have any role models, if so who and why?

I’ve got a few role models. I love, love, love Dustin

Lance Black who is an Oscar winning screenwriter. (Soon-to-be husband of Tom Daley). I’m chuffed that he follows me on twitter and has responded to

some messages. It was when I watched a YouTube clip ( called Dustin Lance Black Creative process) where he shows how he structures his screenplays

using index cards where I realised the method I would use to write my book (as ‘write a book’ is on my Bucket List). Also, he is an activist promoting diversity, but what I love about him, is that he

doesn’t do it in an aggressive way. His aim is to change hearts and minds with personal stories rather than demanding people to do things. His speeches

are outstanding, they give you goose bumps! I also am in awe of the writer James Patterson. He is so prolific with his writing. I find his books easy to read

as they have very short chapters (my book does too). Danielle Steel is another writer who writes simply whereby you can put her book down then

pick it back up and you’ll have no trouble remembering where you left it. There’s also people like Oprah Winfrey who have come through extreme

adversity to become a success. I love listening to their interviews, you can’t fail but to be inspired by them.

You can take a peek at Vicky’s bucket list here:- http://tinyurl.com/hwpzkxj

You can keep up to date with Vicky's bucket list on her website or following on Twitter.

Website: http://vickyjones.ukTwitter: @VickyJones7

5

Vicky HawShining Star

talks to Aspire Vicky Haw, Regional Manager

(Convenience) speaks to

Aspire about her experience on

the Food ‘Shining Stars’

leadership development

programme and her career

through the Food business.

You have worked for Co-op since 1999,

how did you start your career and was

this what you always wanted to do?

All I wanted to do was work in food retail and be

a Manager. I wrote to every supermarket and

managed to secure a job with the Co-op as a

Trainee Store Manager. I worked in the cash

office until I’d completed my a-levels and the day

after my last exam I was straight into full time

work.

What made you apply for the Shining

Stars programme?

It seemed like a natural career progression, there

hadn’t really be a programme that focused on

personal development and I’d got to a point in

my life where the children were settled and it was

the natural time to start pushing on in my

career. Fortunately I had some really supportive

people who believed in me and how the

programme would help me accelerate.

I also learnt:

● The value of teamwork and that stakeholder

management is absolutely critical.

● Be brave - what’s the worst that can happen?

● Stay true to your values, they are what make

you who you are.

What are the main things you learnt

from being on the Shining Stars

programme?

The programme really makes you focus on

yourself, and where you want to go and how to

get there in the right way. It’s about developing

personal and commercial effectiveness, I have

become more emotionally aware and I am able to

use the skills I learnt in my day to day role.

6

Do you have any advice for women

wanting to progress their career or

increase their confidence?

If you do 10 things and 2 of them are wrong,

celebrate the 8 things that were successful and

learn from the other 2. Say yes to great

opportunities and the plan how you’re going to

deliver afterwards Have a voice and an opinion -

and share the great things you do.

I hear you have recently been

promoted to Regional Manager

(Convenience), leading a team of 6

Area Managers with a responsibility for

130 Convenience Stores,

congratulations! What do you enjoy

most about your job?

Everything!!! My heart has and always will be in

the shops and this role gives me the chance to

make a real difference for our colleagues,

customers and members who visit our stores. I

enjoy being part of a team who have embarked

biggest periods of change that we have ever had

as a business. I particularly love the community

buzz within stores and the real excitement about

“being Co-op” again.

Is it a male dominated area? And are

there challenges working in this field?

Yes it is male dominated and the challenge is I

know nothing about football! On a serious note I

can honestly say that gender has no impact on

the role and I am lucky to work with such great

people and had great sponsors throughout my

career at the Co-op.

You have two young children, Teagan

(8) and Riley (6), how did you find

juggling a full time job, the shining

stars programme and managing your

home life?

In a word…”Tough”. Being planned and

organised was critical and it is fair to say that

there wasn’t much “me time”. That said I would

do it again in a heartbeat. I had great support

from my line manager, my husband is brilliant

with the kids and it helps that I absolutely love my

job.

Are there any tricks you’ve learnt you

can share with Aspire readers?

Be open, if you have something really important

e.g. school play or sports day put it in your diary

and don’t move it. Work as a Team, it shares the

workload and its far more fun. Have a confidant,

someone your trust to give you clarity and real

valuable feedback.

Finally, do you have any role models?

I don’t have role models as such but I do feel

incredibly lucky to have a fantastic family and

some great friends.

Thank you Vicky,

all the best!

7

I N T E R V I E W W I T H

Claire Young Claire, first of all thank you for taking the time to speak to Aspire. You first graced our screens in series four of “The Apprentice” at the time a staggering 11 million watched your journey. What opportunities arose from being on this kind of show?The experience changed my life! It opened up a world of opportunities from starting my own business, to being a government advisor, having my own radio show, meeting incredible people and being involved lots of different projects. I often thank Lord Sugar for believing in me and keeping me in the show as without The Apprentice my life would be very different.

Lord Sugar dubbed you a “Rottweiler” for your approach and mind-set of never giving up. Do you think a man with the same traits would have been described as something different? Probably not! I was a little shocked to be called a Rottweiler but I have embraced it. In business, and life, you need to have great self-belief, resilience and the ability to pick yourself up when things don’t go quite to plan.

Do you think the description’s that are used in the media to describe Business women are different for men? Yes, very much so. If a woman is con9dent, ambitious and driven – and knows what she wants - she can be labelled as a ‘ball breaker’, ‘aggressive’, ‘bitch’ when actually they are not. Also, women are often asked about clothes, personal life and children when men would never in a million years be posed those questions.

Did you always have a clear vision of what you wanted to do with your career? Yes from the word, from joining L’Oreal Graduate Scheme I articulated to them where I wanted to be in my career and asked them what I needed to do to make it happen. I like a plan, goals and ticking things off. In general terms, women are not very good at asking for what they want and knowing their value.

Since the show you now have your own business “School Speakers” tell us about this and what gave you this focus? After the show I was inundated by schools asking me to go in and speak to their students – especially to

the girls. Schools often book speakers to run talks and workshops and I spotted a gap in the market to bring them under one brand. Thus, I created www.schoolspeakers.co.uk. I started with 54 speakers and 5 years down the line we have over 300 speakers working all over the UK and internationally with schools. It has been a big success and it is very rewarding.

You are also co-founder of “Girls Out Loud” which we know very well at Aspire. Please tell us why you wanted to focus on this particular issue. As a young woman I can relate to teenage girls and I 9nd it heart breaking to see some of the trends we are currently witnessing with this demographic. Eating disorders, lack of con9dence in their ability, poor role models, no aspiration. Girls Out Loud was set up to motivate and inspire teenage girls to believe in themselves and their ability – to dream and reach for the stars!

8

Role models are important throughout different stages of all our lives. Who inspires you Claire? Growing up I had 3 very strong female role models; Oprah Winfrey, my Mum and my headmistress Pat Langham. There is no doubt that they de9nitely inEuenced, and shaped, who I am today. I think role models are so important; I’m a great believer that if you don’t see something then it’s unlikely that you will be become. You need that spark of inspiration!

In my career I looked up to Emma Wormsley who was the General Manager at L’Oréal, was amazing at her career and had 3 children. Now a days I admire many successful women for different reasons. JK Rowling, Malala, Hilary Clinton and lots of female entrepreneurs.

Your daughter Eva is now 4? What is the one thing you would like to see change by the time Eva is working? Genuine fair, and equal, opportunities for her in every aspect of life. Hopefully by the time Eva applies for jobs the gender pay gap will be non-existent.

Your career to date what is the most important piece of advice you have been given and by whom? Gabby Logan’s Mum said to me: Never feel that you are failing if you cannot do 100% of everything 100% of the time. Be kind to yourself and see that you are creating opportunities for other people. I have a lady called Michelle who helps me at home with jobs, I appreciate her so much and she has now started her own cleaning business which is fantastic. As a working mother it is really hard work to juggle everything, I have learnt to ask for help – and accept it!

Claire you seem to be one of these people who are always on the go!E How does Claire relax? I always say to people I mentor – you have to look after yourself as you are no good to anyone burnt out. I’m good at self-regulating myself when I am tired and ratty. I horse ride which is my quiet time, I go to the cinema by myself and I like nothing more than a long bath & early night. If you are very yang – it’s important to 9nd your button to switch off – the ying – and rebalance. I think good work life balance is absolutely essential for a happy life.

You must have been offered to do other types of reality shows.E Have you ever been tempted to do the tango with “Strictly” or dinner with a Witchetty grub on I’m a celebrity? Yes I have been asked to take part in several TV shows. For many reasons I have said no. The Apprentice was such a positive experience and I would like to leave my reality to experience on a high. I would struggle to leave my daughter for a long time. Also, I think that if I was on TV eating kangaroo testicles, as they do in the jungle, no one would take me seriously. My business career is too important to me to risk it.

What are your 3 top tips for working women?

● Have con9dence in your ability and put yourself forward for opportunities.

● Value your time highly. Keep a diary, every meeting should have an agenda & purpose. Have clear time boundaries for what is important for you.

● Build up a support network of other working women – they are an invaluable able source of friendship, mentors, sounding board, information and at times will keep you sane!

9

This Year Aspire celebrated International Women’s Day by travelling back to the 70’s to celebrate how far we have come but also to focus on the fact that in its’ Global Gender Parity Report 2015, the World Economic Forum estimated it will take an astonishing 117 years to achieve gender parity in the workplace. This had increased from the 80 years that was estimated in 2014!

The night was a great success; the Co-op choir The

Pioneers opened the event with a mix of 70’s

melodies. Both Co-op colleagues and external

guests were serenaded whilst tucking into 70’s

themed food such as mini quiches, pineapple and

cheese on a stick and souffle – maybe not to

everyone’s taste but it was soon gone!

Once we were all sat down with our glass (or two)

of prosecco we heard the inspiring tale of a working

mother, when our own Helen Webb Director of HR

in Food Retail spoke about her mother’s

experience of being a woman in the seventies

juggling both a job and young children at home.

The term ‘flexible working’ was not so common

and Helen’s mum was one of few that had taken

the decision to work part time leading to criticism

not only at work, but also on the school run.

We were then taken on a whistle stop tour through

the last five decades by Sonia Bates, the founder

of EDIT Development, a global people leadership

business who has over 20 years’ experience in

retail, financial services and people development.

We looked back at the Good Housekeeping-esque

advice of making sure you had your lipstick on 15

minutes before your husband came home to the

nineties revolution of Girl Power and fear of Y2K

and finally the rights we are campaigning for today,

still 40 years after the equal pay act came into

force.

The video #LikeAGirl brought home how important

it is to bring about gender parity not only for

ourselves but for those generations to come.

#PledgeForParity

10

Sonia also gave some practical advice on how to deal with everyday sexism:

‰ Practice Your Bemused and Dismissive Reaction

‰ Volley Back the Usual, Predictable Attacks

‰ Point Out When Someone Calls You “Sweetheart” or a name that doesn’t sit with you

‰ Call it Out Directly–But From a Place of Being on the Same Team

‰ Pretend You Don’t Get it–and Make Them Explain

‰ Blame it on Generational Differences (Oh, Burn!)

The night ended with the announcement of the

Aspire Women of the Year winner, see overleaf for

more. And then a mix of networking and making

full use of the photo booth to show our

#PledgeForParity, photos of which adorn the front

cover of this edition! We were also loaned

suffragette sashes from The Pankhurst Trust, the

heritage centre at 52 Nelson Street, Manchester

the home of Emmeline Pankhurst, to channel our

inner suffragette.

Thank you for all the amazing people that came to celebrate with us on the

night and to show our solidarity to pledge for gender parity sooner rather

than later! We’d love to see your #PledgeForParity so tweet us

@aspire_co_op.

11

Each year a member of the Aspire

Steering Group is nominated to receive

the prestigious ‘Aspire Women of the

Year’ award. Traditionally the winner is

announced on International Women’s

Day to tie in with the celebration of

women in the workplace and across the

globe.

This year’s winner was the lovely Sarah Roberts, a

solicitor in Co-op Group Legal. Sarah has shown

her commitment to supporting colleagues by co-

organising the now highly popular ‘Women in

Property’ events as a way of encouraging women in

an area where they are under-represented to get

together and network.

The last few events have showcased speakers such

as Jennie Daly, the current UK Land Director of

Taylor Wimpey, Co-op’s Helen Webb, Director of

HR for Food Retail and most recently Amanda

Clack, a partner at EY and Head of Infrastructure.

You can see a review of Amanda’s Women in

Property talk featured in this issue!

As these events are specialised they have attracted

male attendees, having the knock-on effect of

more male participation in Aspire events too, which

is great! Sarah also brings loads of energy and

enthusiasm to steering group meetings and

provides the drive to bring ideas to fruition.

Sarah was away enjoying a relaxing break in

Morocco on the night of the award presentation but

Emma Barrett, Chair of Aspire picked it up on her

behalf.

Woman of theYear Awards

On hearing she had won the award Sarah had this

to say:

“I believe so completely in the goals of the Aspire

network that it doesn’t feel like I’ve actually put in

any work to deserve this, but the idea that I have

done something helpful towards supporting women

and working towards gender parity in the Co-op

makes me feel so proud I could burst.”

We wish Sarah all the best for this next year and

look forward to seeing how both Sarah and Woman

in Property continue to grow and flourish.

12

C O – O P W O M E N I N P R O P E R T Y Co-op

Women

PropertyIn Event

Spring

Back in September 2015, a cohort of women from the Estates team went to the APM Women in Project Management conference in London. One of the Key Note Speakers from that event was Amanda Clack, partner and Head of Infrastructure at EY and the President Elect of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Amanda agreed to come to one of our Women in Property events to tell us about the importance of diversity in property and project teams.

There are global changes for property – changes such as increased population, more people living in cities

and more people living alone for longer. Property and project teams need to have the best talent if they are

going to keep up with the changes. To disregard women and people of colour from your resourcing pools

means you are disregarding a huge amount of talent off the bat. Companies with diverse boards perform

better, teams made up of people with different backgrounds are more innovative and mixed gender project

teams increased revenue by 41% so it makes good business sense not to restrict your resourcing options!

The video is available on YouTube and is definitely worth a look!

Co-op Women in Property was founded by Sarah Roberts and Samantha Wright, solicitors in the Legal

department, as a way to bring together women in a male-dominated field to network and to learn from the

experiences of successful women. Events are held quarterly and are open to all Co-op employees.

“Diversity is not a problem. Diversity is a strategy”

AspreCo-op supports

career network

I

By Emma Barrett

13

Maternity Leave Series:

#2Anna NiklewskaIn our second feature on maternity leave Anna Niklewska, Retail IT Business Analyst, has kindly shared her experience of returning to work after the birth of her second child, Barbara, as well some pearls of wisdom she has learned along the way

Firstly have your thoughts about work changed at all since you had your baby? Yes! Becoming a working mum means you need to

reprioritize and reorganise your life. Work is still important

to me and I want to be seen as professional at work but I also know that nobody will replace me in being a mum. So

I organize myself and try to keep the balance between

those two roles and a healthy distance if something goes

wrong in either of those two worlds.

How did you feel as your maternity leave was coming to an end? When I was leaving for maternity there was a

reorganisation in my team and there was a lot of changes

in my department – so I felt anxious about returning to

work to a completely new team. I wasn’t sure if or how I

would fit into the new team. I also had some

“thoughts/doubts” on how it will work with returning to

work for 3 days a week, childcare for my daughter and how I will manage to do everything what I used to do during the

week.

Did you use any of your KIT (keeping in touch) days and if so would you recommend them? No, I wasn’t sure how to organise them. However, I kept in

touch with friends at work and visited Angel Square once

every 3 months to find out what was happening in the team

and the business.

How did you feel when you first stepped back into the office? Great! Back to the adult conversations without (almost any)

interruptions and danger of getting imprints from small hands on your dress. I was really looking forward to

meeting old friends and a bit excited to meet new people,

similar to starting a new job.

Have you had to adjust how you work to accommodate your new arrangements? (e.g., working hours or personal ways of working?) Yes, I only work 3 days a week Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday and have long weekend at home with my little

Barbara. This arrangement allows me to spend some

quality time with her and to catch up with domestic duties

and school arrangements of my older daughter Aleksandra.

But what I am missing the most is the social interactions

and small talk in the office around the weekends. On

....................................................................................

Tuesday nobody asks you how was your weekend and on Thursday it’s too early to discuss weekend plans – it is

straight back into business all the time.

What has been the most helpful thing in coming back to work? People! Everyone has been really welcoming! I have to

admit that my manager was really accommodating and we

agreed that I will work for half days for the first 2 weeks to

accommodate settling Barbara down in her nursery. And as

she was settled – my mind was at ease and I could

concentrate at work.

Personally, how do you get the balance between work and home life? Constantly learning to get it right. It’s like living in the film

The Matrix – just a phone call away from another world.

At home I’ve learned to delegate and accept that 80% is

good enough. My husband and my older daughter are

helping and trying to be self-sufficient wherever they can. At work I need to prioritize and do things in more efficient

way. And also ask for help if needed.

What has been the best advice you’ve been given as a working mum, or what advice would you give to new mums? As mentioned before – to accept that in some cases it is

ok to ‘let it go’. Sometimes I am even singing Elsa’s song.

The simple one which I follow and I got it from one working

mum is - to prepare all clothes – yours and your children – the night before so in the morning there are no surprises

on this account. It really reduces stress.

We want your feedback!We would love to hear from all Co-op colleagues on how Aspire can continue to help and support women in the workplace.

Please fill in our brand new ‘Suggestions and Feedback’ form on our Intranet pages as to whether you feel a Maternity/ Paternity support group would be beneficial. This could be as a port of call for colleagues that are expecting, returning to work or even thinking of starting a family to share experiences and ask each other for advice, or even just to have a break!

You can also use this e-form to let us know of any other ideas or feedback on events you have to keep Aspire as relevant and supportive as we possibly can.

14

Following the sad news that the Guild has now disbanded, Aspire

thought it was only right we bring you a history of this amazing

group of women and everything they achieved.

Beginnings

Every movement has to start somewhere and the Guild can trace its history back to

a section in Co-operative News called ‘Women’s Corner’. The Corner, as it was

known, frst appeared in January 1883 penned by Mrs Alice Acland . Mrs Acland

intended to cover needlework, homecraft and childcare but from her frst editorial

women’s rights were clearly on the agenda with her comments:

What I want to know is – why are we held in such little esteem among men? Why is

the feeblest type of man called an old “woman”? Why do our lecturers dislike to

speak to a “parcel of women”? Why is “woman-hearted” a term of reproach?

Needle work was clearly only going to keep Alice’s attention for so long! Along

with her friend Mary Lawrenson, Alice established the ‘Women’s League for the

Spread of Co-operation’ later to become the Guild.

The Guild slowly and steadily grew in numbers building up local branches across

the country and by 1889 there were 51 branches and a membership of around

1800.

It was under the leadership of the notorious Margaret Llewelyn Davis from 1889

that the Guild really took off. Membership rose to over 51,000 during her 32 year

period of offce. Margaret was a force to be reckoned with and it would take a

separate article to cover her history. She had a profound impact on Guild policy

and all her thinking lay in the Co-operative model.

Campaigns and Achievements

The Guild was an entirely peaceful organisation and while it supported the aims

of Suffrage its members were not Suffragettes.

The approach of the Guild was to campaign and lobby and to do so effectively and

relentlessly.

Equal Pay

The Guild had fought for female inclusion in both the Co-operative Movement

By Sarah Roberts

Co-operative Women's Guildand the union and in the 1890s it began to campaign for improved working conditions

and pay for female Co-operative workers. A systematic enquiry was conducted and

found that even within the Movement women were being exploited through working

long hours for low pay. The Guild pressurised the Movement to adopt the principle of a

Co-operative minimum wage and within this established a women’s scale.

The idea was not warmly received and met with much resistance by the employers and

the Guild spent the next few years campaigning within the Movement for the scale to

be adopted. Victory was fnally achieved in 1912 when the Co-operative Wholesale

Society carried a resolution to place all of its workers on the scale by 1914.

This was 56 years before the Equal Pay Act and a staggering 86 years before the

Minimum Wage Act! What a truly an amazing achievement, for both the Guild and the

Co-operative Movement. Also note this was before the First World War, widely seen as

the turning point in accepting the capabilities of women.

Divorce Reform

Prior to 1923 divorce was largely confned to men. A petition could only be based on

the ground of adultery and women had to prove an aggravating factor such as rape or

incest.

The Guild was invited in 1910 to present evidence to the Royal Commission on Divorce

and it set about collating the views of its members. In 1911 it presented its book

‘Working Women and Divorce’ to the Commission. This book represented the frst

substantial public expression of female working class opinion on the operation of

marriage laws.

There was considerable concern within the Co-operative Movement regarding the

Guild’s evidence, particularly among the Catholic interest. But the Guild defended its

position and fought on for equality for women.

Maternity Benefit

Sometimes considered to be the Guild’s greatest achievement the next Edition of

Aspire Magazine will bring you the story of the Guild’s involvement in the Maternity

Beneft. See the extract on page 16 for an excerpt of the evidence they produced.

Until next time…

of the

A BriefHistory

15

MATERNITYLETTERS

FROM WORKING-WOMEN

C O L L E C T E D B Y

T H E WO M E N ' S C O - O P E R AT I V E G U I L D

Ph

oto

: w

ww

. roch

da

lepio

ne

er s

mu

seum

.co

op

In the early 20th Century the Guild was fghting to fnd a way to protect

working class mothers from the sufferings that child bearing could infict.

They lobbied for an amendment to a bill to contain the Maternity Beneft.

In the next edition of Aspire magazine we will bring you the story of how

this happened and what it meant for women. In the meantime here are

some extracts from the letters the Guild gathered from its members to

evidence such sufferings, 1s is equal to approximately £1 in today’s

money: * warning* there are some tough stories…

16

No. 132 The Terrible Suffering I endured.The frst part of my life I spent in a screw factory from six in the morning till fve at night; and after tea used to do my washing and cleaning. I only left two weeks and three weeks before my frst children were born. After that I took in lodgers and washing, and always worked up till an hour or so before baby was born. The results are that three of my girls suffer with their insides. None are able to have a baby. One poor boy was born ruptured on

account of my previous hard work. Two of my lads, one married is a chronic sufferer, and has three children; another, the one that was ruptured has outgrown that, but he is far from a robust lad. I can only look back now on the terrible suffering I endured, that tells a tale now upon my health. I could never afford a nurse, and so was a day or two after my confnements obliged to sit up and wash and dress the others. My Husband’s wages varied owing to either hot weather or some of the other men not working. I have known him

to come home with £3 or £4, and have seen him come home with nothing; and when earning good money, as much as 30s has been paid away in drink. I had three little ones in two years and fve months, and he was out of work two years, and during that time I took in washing and sewing , and have not been near a bed for night after night. I was either at my sewing machine or ironing after the little ones had gone to bed. After being confned fve

days I have had to do all for my little ones. I worked sometimes up till a few moments before they were born. I do hope I have not done wrong in relating so much of my past, and that it may be of some use in the furthering of our scheme.Wages £3 or £4 to nothing; ten children, two miscarriages.

No 2 Out Of Bed on the Third DayI received your paper on Maternity Scheme, and I can assure you it brought back to me many painful hours of what I have passed through in twenty-one years of married life. For one thing, I have had a delicate husband for

ffteen years, and I have had nine children, seven born in nine years. I have only one now; some of the others have died from weakness from birth. I only had a small wage, as my husband was then a railway porter. His earnings

were 18s one week and 16s the next, and I can say truthfully my children have died from my worrying how to make two ends meet and also insuffcient food. For many of my children I have not been able to pay for a nurse to look after me, and I have got out of bed on the third day to make my own gruel and fainted away. My little girl

which is just fourteen years old, from the frst month of pregnancy until my nine months were up I attended the hospital and had a hospital nurse in to confne me… A women with little wage has to go without to make ends

meet. Before my confnements and after I have always suffered a great deal with bearing down, doctors have told me it is weakness, not having enough good food to keep my health during such times. My little girl I have was under the doctor for seven months, being a weak child born, and I for one think that if I had a little help from

someone I should have had my children by my side today. It is only been through weakness they have passed away. It is with great pleasure I write this letter to you. I could say a great deal more on sufferings of women if I saw you.

Wages 16s to 18s; nine children, one still birth, one miscarriage.

No. 88 Did not like to Say AnythingI can safely say that had there been a centre to which I could have gone before my frst boy was born I should have been saved the terrible torture I suffered both before and after confnement. I was very ignorant before marriage, and went away among strangers; and when I become pregnant I did not like to say anything to a strange doctor, and I had no lady friends whom I felt I could confde in. So I went about with an ulcerated stomach, sick after

every attempt to take food; and when my baby came, I nearly lost my life. He was also very delicate for fve years after birth, wholly due, I am convinced, to the state I was in whilst pregnant.With the other two boys, I have always had to get about too soon. The month I have always had to have a women in the house, during which time I have been absolutely helpless, being a terrifc expense.The doctor has ordered me to lie down for two hours each day, but that is absolutely impossible for a working

man’s wife when she has two or three children around her, meals to provide, and the washing and cleaning etc. to do in the home. I speak from my own experience, and I know that there are thousands of women who are a million time worse off than I am, for I have the best husband in the world; but his nor any other working man’s wages won’t pay for help in the home at a cost of at least 12s a week and food. On the very day my frst baby was born my husband was

thrown out of work. This was kept from my knowledge for fve weeks, and I am sure you will guess all the scheming he used to keep me in ignorance. He had his club money for the period he was out of employment, which amounted to 9s a week.Wages 25s to 30s; three children.

17

AspreCo-op supports

career network

I

A 0 Years B 117 Years C 40 Years

Q1. How long has it been estimated until there is global gender parity within the workplace? (According to World Economic Forum)

A The Women with the Basket B Till Power C Shop for Change

Q2. What was the name of the Co-operative Women’s Guild publication that epitomised their belief that because women were (and still are) the primary consumers in society, they could be a powerful economic group that could inspire change?

A Emma Watson B Kate Winslet C Thandie Newton

Q3. The UN’s HeForShe movement, which brings together one half of humanity in support of the other, was spearheaded by which actress?

A Scotland B Ireland C Japan

Q4. What country made feminist history when women outnumbered men in the legal profession?

A David Cameron (UK) B Justin Trudeau (Canada) C Erna Solberg (Norway)

Q5. Which Prime Minister in 2016 called on men and women to embrace feminism to improve decision-making in politics and business?

A November 19th B May 3rd C March 9th

Q6. When is International Men’s Day celebrated?

Q7. Who is this notable women?

Answers

Q1 (b) 117 years Q2 (a) The Women With The BasketQ3 (a) Emma Watson. Watson launched the HeForShe campaign last fall by delivering a powerful speech about feminism at the UN.Q4 (b) Ireland. New statistics from the Law Society of Ireland reveal that there are 4,623 practicing female solicitors, compared to 4,609 male solicitors.Q5 (b) Justin Trudeau - Trudeau appointed a gender-balanced cabinet after he became prime minister in November, made up of 15 men and 15 women. At the time, he explained his decision by saying: “Because it’s 2015”.Q6 (a) November 19th – International Men’s Day highlights important issues such as high suicide rates and prostate cancer. Q7 Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr. she delivered a “Solidarity Day” speech only two months after her husband’s death, calling for women everywhere to "unite and form a solid block of women power” to combat racism.

International Women's Day: Game Changer QUIZTake our quiz below and find out how much you know about the subject

19

Karen & Kathryn

Karen Polymniou and Kathryn Scordino job share as the Strategic HR Business Partner for the North. They

have kindly shared their experiences with Aspire and discuss the benefits and challenges of taking on their

particular working relationship.

I N T E R V I E W W I T H

20

For those who aren’t familiar with job sharing roles, can you explain how your current job sharing situation works?We each work three days, crossing over on a Wednesday.

Perfecting our handovers has been vital. It’s critical that

we’re aligned in every way and so we use a combination

of handover notes, phone conversations and face to face

contact to ensure the other person is fully briefed and set

up for success on their three days. We hold our team

meetings on Wednesdays so that we can both be there and hold fortnightly 1:1s with our team individually and

then also together once a month. We share the same

workload but often join different calls depending on the

day of the week and then fully brief our partner in the

handover.

You both worked at Barclays before your move to the Co-op in a similar job sharing capacity, how did the idea for a job share come about?Our partnership began at Barclays in the Retail bank,

when a restructure presented the opportunity. Kathryn

was on maternity leave and Karen approached her to see

if she would consider applying for a job share. We were

lucky to have a line manager, Catherine Muirden, who is

also our manager here at the Co-op who was advanced in

her thinking and keen to support us. Catherine got the

buy in of the senior executive and supported setting us up with access to consultancy advice from Capability Jane,

helping us set up our job share and identify how it would

best work. We then spent a year and a half leading the HR

change function for the Retail Bank, before deciding to

move on in 2014.

Why was a job share role right for you?We were both separately working part-time – Karen 3 and

a half days and Kathryn 3 days – and this initially worked

well for us in standalone HR project roles. We both had

young families and were trying to find a balance between

having time at home to bring up our families and having challenging and interesting roles that would stretch us.

However, as our roles grew, we found that we weren’t as

able to switch off at the end of our working week and

were starting to work more on our non-working days. Job

sharing therefore seemed like an ideal solution. It allowed

us to work in a more senior role because there was

always someone available to lead the team and take

action, meaning that we rarely had to work on our non-

working days and that work did not have to wait until we

were back in the business.

How did you first find job sharing, was it difficult to work as a team or are things split quite equally between you?Experimenting with different ways of working and

structuring the partnership has been essential to finding

the right balance. Initially we each took responsibility for

separate specialist accountabilities but this made it hard

to cover effectively for the other. Over time we realised

that this approach wasn’t working so changed to a ‘pure’

job share – sharing all elements of the role. We’ve found

it easy to work as a team as we share the same values

and work ethic – it would be difficult to make a job share

work if you didn’t have similar levels of motivation and

commitment.

You both have 20 years of HR experience however what challenges do you face?Like any working Mums the main challenge is the

juggling of work life balance and wanting to do a good

job but also having quality time with our families. The

handovers can take a long time but we don’t mind this,

as we both know the value of doing this well. When we first started to job share we thought that some

colleagues might try to “play us off against each other”

but have actually never experienced this, perhaps

because we have similar values and are likely to

respond to the a query in the same way as the other.

Have you found any advantages of job sharing over going it alone?One of the key benefits is the difference in skills that we

bring. We have shared values, but are very different in

strengths and approach. Karen would say that she’s

learned to be better at doing things on the spur of the

moment and in seeing the big picture from Kathryn,

whilst Kathryn would add that she values Karen’s

attention to detail and written communication style.

Together we end up with a better piece of work and

people often come to us because they know they will

get slightly different perspectives. We hold joint

performance and development reviews with our team

too which they value because they get more rounded

feedback. Another advantage is that when one of us is

on holiday the other is still generally in, so one half of the week is always covered. Also, as we work together

so closely, there is always someone there to support

you, to speak to if you’ve had a bad day, or to celebrate

achievements with!

Are you now so in tune with each other that you would find it hard to work with someone else or is it quite easy to both get on with your own workload?Yes! We’ve worked together for four years now and

have built up our own job sharing ‘brand’ which we’re

very proud of. While we’re still enjoying partnering each

other and are in a role which gives us the right level of

challenge, we’re excited to keep this going and look forward to seeing what the future brings for us.

Are there any tips you could share for anyone going into a similar job sharing role?The most critical aspect of job sharing, like any

relationship, is that the chemistry works. You have to

have absolute trust and respect for the other person

and even though you might approach a piece of work

differently to each other, be aligned in your values and

your commitment to doing a great job, as this will enable you to come to the same or similar outcome.

You also have to view each success as a shared

achievement– job sharing only works if you’re in it

together for both the high and low points.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and showing that job

shares are a great way of flexible working that can benefit both employees and the business!

................................................................................................................

21

By Emma Barrett

Back in March, Aspire was invited to

The Clink restaurant in Styal. The Clink

is a charity focussed on reducing the

re-offending rates of ex-prisoners. To

do this, they work with the Prison

Service to open restaurants run by

offenders, giving them practical skills,

a qualification, and the opportunity to

take their first steps towards a new life.

Shelter organised an event at The Clink restaurant in Styal to showcase the

project, including the quality of the food. Shelter also work with prisoners as having

a home to go to following prison is a key element in reducing recidivism rates.

There are four Clink Restaurants – Styal,

Brixton, Cardiff and High Down - and they are open to everyone (you can book a

table here). The food is high-end, made from scratch and often from home-grown

ingredients.

You can read more about The Clink’s work here and Shelter’s work with prisoners here.

“The Clink is doing great things for prisons, people, local communities and the reputation of Britain’s catering industry, and I salute it unreservedly.”

Giles Coren, columnist and restaurant critic for The Times

THE CLINKRESTAURANT

The type of food you can expect from The Clink is a starter of Black

Pudding and Mozzarella Hash Brown (left), main course of Pan-Fried Cod

Fillet with Leek and Potato Rosti (main) and a Chocolate and Hazelnut

Mille Feuille for dessert (above).

23

Visit https://register.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership