We’re proud to be the largest independent retailer operating in the East of England. We provide food stores and specialist services, such as funerals, security, travel agents and petrol filling stations to communities across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

With a significant property portfolio and other businesses, we are a diverse and modern business.

As a co-operative business, we’re run differently to other big organisations, putting our members first. Our focus has always been, and always will be, the local communities in our region.

At our co-op, fairness is central to who we are. Our Gender Pay Report is one of the ways we hold ourselves accountable — by openly sharing where we are making progress and where more work is needed.

This year’s results give us reasons to be encouraged. We are proud that women make up almost two-thirds of our workforce, and it is positive to see the median pay gap among our Top 100 earners close. This tells us that steps we’ve taken to support women’s progression into senior roles are beginning to have an impact.

At the same time, the data makes clear that challenges remain. Women are still underrepresented in our senior, specialist, and Central Support roles, which contributes to the higher mean pay gap we continue to see. Addressing this requires not only fair pay structures, but also strong pathways for career progression and development across all levels of our co-op.

As a member-owned business, we take our responsibility to act with transparency seriously. We are committed to using these insights to focus our efforts where they will make the biggest difference — ensuring colleagues can grow, progress, and be rewarded fairly, wherever they work in our co-op.

I confirm the information and data reported is accurate as at the snapshot date of 13 April 2025.

Esme Cole, Chair Remuneration & Search Committee

East of England Co-operative Society