The retail sector as a whole has come on leaps and bounds in terms of gender equality since I started my career. This has been a result of determined individuals who, through their dedication and tenacity, have promoted opportunities for women in the industry.

As Nisa’s Head of Retail and a proud Ambassador for Diversity in Wholesale and Women in Wholesale, I am determined to bring industry figures together to drive gender equality in the sector.

At this year’s annual conference in Stoneleigh, I had the pleasure of introducing a panel discussion with five leading women in the industry for our Women in Retail panel. The panel included Co-op Food’s commercial director, Sinead Bell; Women in Wholesale founder Elit Rowland; Greencore’s business improvement coordinator, Monique Munro; and the owner of Whyte’s of New Pitsligo, Julie-Anne Whyte.

It was a fascinating discussion, in which our panel members shared their own experiences, discussed gender equality in the retail industry, and explored the support tools, groups, and forums available to female Nisa retailers.

CHANGES IN SECTOR

What particularly resonated was the fact that so many women in this industry have experience being the only woman in the room. However, the sector is changing. The panellists shared changes being made across the sector to achieve gender equality in retail businesses by engaging in unbiased recruitment training and removing gender biased wording from job adverts.

Monique added that Greencore have standardised the wording for roles. “It has been proven than women are more likely to apply to a job if they feel like they can achieve 80-100% of the criteria list, whereas men apply if they feel like they can achieve a minimum of 60%. It’s really important to have a distinction between desirable and necessary traits,” she said.

‘So many women in this industry have experience being the only woman in the room’

These changes will prove to be essential if we are to attract the right people to the industry. The establishment of Women in Wholesale by Elit and many others has allowed women in the industry to gain the recognition they deserve. It is through this work, and the work of many other organisations and businesses, that we have been able to raise the visibility of emerging talent within the industry. The discussion highlighted that while the journey towards gender diversity and equality in the sector is ongoing, there is always more that we can do to drive change.

EMPOWERING COLLEAGUES

Elit mentioned this during our panel discussion when she said that “we all have a responsibility to create the culture we want to see, it doesn’t matter what job role you are in”.

It is because of this I, and many others across the industry, want to empower our colleagues and peers to drive change. To foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in the retail convenience sector, businesses need to be proactive. Nisa regularly engages with female retailers and colleagues to discuss what more can be done to improve diversity and equality, and our MD, Peter Batt, leads from the front to champion this.

‘I, and many others across the industry, want to empower our colleagues and peers to drive change’

Through our work with the Women in Wholesale and Co-op’s Aspire network we are able to promote events and opportunities for all of our colleagues. By developing a wide support network, we are able to enhance the experiences and careers of our female colleagues.

It is particularly telling that during the Women in Retail panel, all panellists agreed that it was essential that we use our networks across the supply chain and in the world of retail to drive change.

The wholesale sector can gain immensely by empowering women within its workforce, recognising their invaluable contributions, and by taking tangible steps to support their professional development.

The post ‘Empowering our colleagues and peers to drive change for women in retail’ first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Nisa Expo 2022 will take place at the NAEC Stoneleigh and will once again span two days on Tuesday 27^th and Wednesday 28^th September.

The show has been held virtually for two years due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, ensuring Nisa partners still had the opportunity to engage with suppliers, Nisa and Co-op colleagues and other Nisa retailers.

John McNeill, chief operating officer at Nisa, said: “We’re delighted that we are once again in a position to hold Nisa Expo as a live event and we are very much looking forward to welcoming Nisa partners, suppliers and colleagues back to Stoneleigh to engage in a face-to-face environment.

“The online platform we adopted for our virtual Nisa Expo events were excellent and offered some great engagement opportunities – however we know everyone is keen for a return to more usual ways of operating and the Nisa Expo is a great arena in which to do this.”

Planning for the Nisa Expo 2022 is underway with successful elements of the virtual event to be incorporated into the physical one alongside new and existing ideas to support and enhance supplier and partner engagement and to deliver what is hoped will be the most successful Nisa Expo to date.

More details will be shared in the new year.

The post Save the date for NISA’s Expo 2022 first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Nisa Expo will once again be taking place virtually, building on the success of the 2020 event with a range of new and exciting opportunities added into the schedule to enable Nisa partners to engage, inspire and trade.

The two-day show on 28^th and 29^th September, will provide Nisa partners as well as suppliers, the opportunity to interact, help each other grow their businesses, get the latest news and advice from suppliers, and learn more about the benefits of being part of Nisa and the Co-op.

Event Manager Jenny Potts, said: “Our first virtual event last year was a great success and this year it will be bigger and better with more opportunities for engagement with suppliers as well as Nisa and Co-op colleagues.”

Co-op led category

The popular Co-op led category talks will return to the event along with access to exclusive on the day deals, panel discussions and live Q&As along with networking opportunities and the annual awards ceremony.

In addition, several new elements have been added to the 2021 line-up to make the virtual event even more valuable to delegates.

One-to-one appointments with suppliers and Nisa colleagues can now take place for longer, allowing partners more time to have the important conversations, with no minimum or maximum number of appointments required.

There will also be opportunity to take part in Nisa and supplier initiatives to help partners drive incremental growth in specific categories.

To improve user experience, all technical elements can be tested in advance to avoid issues on the day and partners will also be invited to take part in live voting for some of the categories in the annual awards.

Jenny added: “We felt it was important to improve and in new features to the 2021 show, based on feedback and learnings from last year and so we hope our partners and suppliers will like what we’ve done.”

The post Nisa Expo registration is now live first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.