Gender Pay Gap Toolkit

Turning insight into action across our industry

Closing the gender pay gap requires more than compliance. It calls for commitment, collaboration and meaningful action.

What leaders are saying

Shirine Khoury-Haq, Chief Executive, Co-op Group:

"Co-op is facilitating over £1 billion of spend into the UK economy over the next year. This includes our biggest ever number of price reductions to help with the cost of living, continued investment in British farmers and suppliers, and a focus on keeping high streets vibrant and safe.

As a business owned by 7 million members, not shareholders, we measure success in the value we create for people and places. Backing Britain reflects our belief that responsible business must play its part in the country’s recovery and future growth."

Tea Colaianni MBE WiHTL Founder & Chair:

“Publishing gender pay gap data is only the first step. The requirement to publish an action plan rightly shifts the focus from transparency alone to meaningful change. Transparency provides the evidence, action plans set out clear commitments, and accountability ensures progress is monitored and sustained. When all three are applied together, organisations can move beyond compliance and deliver fairer pay outcomes and stronger performance. I hope this toolkit will inspire leaders to take practical, informed action and hold themselves accountable for delivering lasting progress."

About the toolkit

The Gender Pay Gap Toolkit is designed for any organisation looking to create an effective action plan alongside their gender pay gap figures.

Developed by Co op in collaboration with WiHTL, the toolkit provides:

  • A step by step guide to building your gender pay gap action plan
  • Practical actions organisations can adapt to their context
  • Real world case studies from across the industry
  • A downloadable action plan template to help set clear actions and measurable outcomes

This toolkit is intended to support meaningful progress; it does not replace any existing legal or statutory requirements.

For official guidance on calculating and reporting gender pay gap data, please refer to resources available on gov.uk.

Who the toolkit is for

  • Employers preparing to publish a gender pay gap action plan
  • Organisations wanting to strengthen their plans to close the gender pay gap
  • Leaders looking for practical, industry relevant guidance

Backing opportunity

We've set a target of creating 7,000 matched apprenticeships by 2030 through our Levy Share service, which has already transferred £40 million of unspent apprenticeship levy from larger employers to smaller businesses and community organisations since 2021.

We also continue to proudly support 38 Co-op Academies, where we fund additional support for families and pupils in need.

Find out more

962 Co-op members were surveyed between 14-19 November 2025 via Co-op Collective. Data was weighted by age to be representative of the active Co-op member base.