The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has launched a new partnership with recruitment company Timewise, to support retailers in driving gender equality in the sector.
The organisation says that a lack of part-time opportunities in retail management roles means that many part-time workers, the majority of whom are women, are held back from progressing their careers and raising their earnings.
“As the largest private sector employer in the UK with around three million people working across retail and wholesale, the pay and progression of our staff is incredibly important to us," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.
"Flexibility is the second most important reason to work in retail, but in some cases this is a trade-off, which may hold some people back from fulfilling their potential or optimising their pay. It is important that these part-time workers are able to progress within organisations."
New Challenges
The BRC says that the retail industry is currently facing a new challenge from a potential skills shortage that a post-Brexit market may bring, which makes it an important time to attract and retain the best staff.
In response to this, the partnership between the BRC and Timewise aims to roll out a flexible job design programme, targeted at retailers to unlock the potential of part-time workers and enhance their opportunities to progress.
Emma Stewart, joint CEO of Timewise, added that this initiative would create a "win-win situation" for UK retailers, by attracting the best people, maximising the skills of their existing workforce, ensuring career progression, and addressing challenges such as low productivity and gender equality.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
