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16


John Lewis Partnership plc Sustainability Review 2014


OUR PARTNERS CONTINUED


Inclusive and vibrant


communities We strive to be a welcoming and diverse business that recognises and values difference. This goes to the heart of our ultimate goal of being a successful co-owned enterprise that benefits all of our Partners.


This aim is supported by our Diversity and Inclusion Policy. The policy is there to help us create a vibrant Partner community, with a varied range of skills, talents, experiences and backgrounds, within a fair environment free of discrimination and harassment.


Our ethnic mix of Partners has not changed significantly over the last decade. Our white Partner demographic continues to reflect the UK population as a whole at 84% of our population, but at senior management levels, white Partners account for 92% of the population. As a Partnership, we want to do more to foster a culture of inclusion at all levels, and we took clear steps to do this in 2013/14.


In focus In September 2013, a number of our senior leaders, including Heads of Branch at John Lewis and Heads of Retail Operations at Waitrose, attended a seminar on unconscious bias. This helped understand how our unconscious personal preferences affect our behaviour.


Tony Wheeler, Managing Director at Peter Jones, says,


“ The unconscious bias seminar was very enlightening. It deepened my understanding of the ever-changing face of society and our marketplace and demonstrated how leaders need to be more agile and adaptable. I am certainly a more commercial leader as a result.”


In November, we also launched a dedicated intranet page for our LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) networking group, Pride in the Partnership.


In 2014, we will continue to drive this culture of inclusivity. We will be rolling out online e-learning diversity training to all 91,000 Partners, emphasising the value of understanding and embracing cultural differences. We will also be setting up a mentoring network for those managers from under-represented ethnic minorities and providing funding and support for Partner- generated diversity groups and networks.


73% OF PARTNERS SAY:


“We build relationships powered by our principles.”


In terms of gender breakdown, the position at the end of the financial year for the following populations is:


Abby Chicken, Chair of the LGBT networking group and Food Hall Manager at John Lewis Oxford Street, says,


“It’s fantastic to finally have an official point of contact for LGBT Partners across all divisions. We hope to be a real resource for Partners and managers to access if they are looking for guidance or support on LGBT issues.”


Thanks to our Diversity and Inclusion scorecard, we are able to monitor and measure the impact and effectiveness of our activities to improve performance in this area. This scorecard will be presented to the Partnership Board each year.


GENDER DIVERSITY Male


Female Directors and Management Board members


67% 33% 57% 43% 43% 57%


Senior managers* All other Partners** * Other than Directors and Management Board members


** Other than Directors, Management Board members and senior managers


Download additional data here PARTNER ETHNICITY


Chinese/Other Ethnic group 1%


Mixed Origin 2%


Not given 2%


White 84%


Black/Black British 5%


Asian/Asian British 6%


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