Highbridge business supports Co-op supplier gender pay gap analysis

7 July 2026

Jane Finch, Chamber member and founder of Somerset business Time for Inclusion, spent the spring helping Co-op better understand gender equality across its supplier network.

An assessment, designed by Jane in her role as a Director for Weave Analytics and in collaboration with the Co-op’s procurement team, examined supplier inclusion practices, workplace progression and organisational conditions that shape opportunities for women across many of Co-op’s strategic suppliers.

Alongside this deep dive into key partners, they also examined gender pay gap data from more than 200 Co-op suppliers.

The analysis shows gender pay gaps across Co‑op’s supplier base remain below the UK average, and also highlighted:

• Progress is being made, but remains gradual, with structural challenges still to address.
• Levels of inclusion maturity, action planning and reporting readiness vary significantly across suppliers.
• Many organisations are still developing their approach to collecting broader workforce data ahead of future reporting requirements.
• Strong practice is emerging across the supplier network, particularly around demographic data collection, inclusive hiring and longer-term action planning.

While Jane is best known locally through her business, Time for Inclusion, supporting organisations to build more inclusive workplaces, she also serves as Director of EDI and Consultancy at Weave Analytics, where she and her colleagues use supply chain inclusion assessments to help organisations review inclusion across their supply chains.

The team was able to give Co-op deeper insight into where progress is being made, where additional support may be needed, and how its supply chain can contribute to accelerating progress on gender equality.

The work was presented at the Co-op’s recent Suppler Conference and the full Co-op Supplier Gender Pay Gap Report is available to read here.