Improving Social Mobility, Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace
Author WIG Date 10 Jul 2023
WIG is delighted to welcome Shirine Khoury-Haq, Group CEO, Co-op, John Craven, Director, Social Mobility Commission, and Dr Padmini Iyer, Head of Research and Advocacy, Making The Leap, for this special lunchtime briefing.
This special lunchtime briefing explored how employers can improve social mobility, inclusion and belonging, drawing on research with employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Hear from our expert panel of speakers featuring Shirine Khoury-Haq, Group CEO, Co-op, John Craven, Director, Social Mobility Commission, and Dr Padmini Iyer, Head of Research and Advocacy, Making The Leap.
By joining us on the day you will:
- Hear exclusive research from Co-op and Making The Leap and discover how Co-op is actioning the findings
- Understand the barriers to progression for colleagues from lower socio-economic background
- Explore the value of greater socio-economic diversity within an organisation
To access this resource you must be a WIG member and logged in to our website.
You can register or log-in here.
To access this resource you must be a WIG member and logged in to our website.
You can register or log-in here.
Speakers at the Event
John was appointed Head of the Social Mobility Commission in June 2022. The Social Mobility Commission's mission is to create a society where the circumstances of birth do not determine outcomes in life.
Before joining the SMC, John was Chief Executive of upReach for six and a half years, in which time the social mobility charity won a prestigious 2022 Queen's Award for Enterprise, "Charity of the Year" in the 2019 Charity Times Awards and the "Embracing Digital" Award in the 2020 Charity Governance Awards.
Previously, John worked for 11 years in investment banking, and as a teacher and lead practitioner, taught mathematics and economics at several state and independent schools. John is a keen runner, having run marathons on every continent, and is a former national premier league hockey player.
Shirine is Group CEO at Co-op, after being permanently appointed in August 2022 and has been a Director on the Co-op Board since joining in 2019. Shirine joined the Co-op in August 2019 as Chief Financial Officer and also later became Chief Executive Officer Life Services, leading Co-op Funeralcare, Insurance and Legal Services and underpinning these market-leading businesses.
Before joining the Co-op, Shirine was Chief Operating Officer for the Lloyd’s insurance market, which comprised of more than 50 leading insurance companies operating with over 200 Lloyd’s brokers. Her remit included global operations, business transformation, data, information technology and corporate real estate. She also led the modernisation programme for the wider London insurance industry.
In addition to holding senior positions at IBM, McDonalds and insurer, Catlin Group, Shirine has worked in a number of regulated sectors in the UK and overseas including retail, IT, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.
Shirine is also a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Persimmon Plc. Previously, Shirine was a Non-Executive Director at the Post Office.
Padmini has been Head of Research and Advocacy at Making The Leap since September 2021. Founded in 1993, Making The Leap is a grassroots charity that works with young people, schools, employers, and charities to advance social mobility and race equity in the UK.
Padmini has over ten years’ experience of mixed-methods research focusing on education, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background in countries including the UK, Ethiopia, India, and Vietnam. Before joining Making The Leap, Padmini led UK-based research at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), and worked on international research studies at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. She completed her doctorate in International Education at the University of Sussex.