BE YOURSELF. ALWAYS REPORT 2020 BE YOURSELF. ALWAYS REPORT 2020 MESSAGE FROM OU R SHARON PURPOSE WHITE AND AMBITION Dear Partner, Our Founder, John Spedan Lewis, established the John Lewis Partnership This ambition is driving our commercial decisions and shaping our to be a force for good in society. He wrote a Constitution that contains employment practices. It influences the services we offer to customers and The past 12 months have been one of the most pivotal years in the Partnership’s history. principles and rules for how we as Partners run our business. It sets out how we work with new commercial partners. It sees us, for instance, taking Amidst the uncertainty and challenges, we have all pulled together in the most extraordinary the role the Partnership has in society and defines our responsibilities to firmer action on pay, working conditions and diversity and inclusion. way and really been there for each other and our customers when they needed us most. Partners, customers, suppliers and the environment. It also states that we Our vision is to be recognised as the UK’s most inclusive business by Of course, there are some things we haven’t got right over the past year and we know we are required to make ‘sufficient’, not ‘maximum’, profit and that’s why we Partners, customers, suppliers and the wider community. We must create aren’t perfect. We have much more work to do and becoming a more diverse and inclusive are focused on reinvesting our profits back into our Partners, our business an inclusive workplace that embraces the diversity of our current and future business is one such example, and an important priority for the Partnership. and the communities we serve. customers, and for Partners, where they can bring their whole selves to As you will read throughout this report, we are starting to make positive progress, but we We are driven to make a difference to people’s lives and create positive work and where development and career opportunities are fair and open have a long way to go. It’s also a sign of our Partnership values that, in this past year especially, social change. In that sense, we are a social enterprise. As an organisation to all. we have been able to have an open and honest debate with Partners to set out our desire to with such a strong heritage in being purpose-led, it’s critical we continue It’s this sense of belonging which is core to our wellbeing as individuals, and truly reflect the customers and communities we serve. to build on our history. We need to ensure our purpose is clear, responds to the world our Partners and customers live in today, builds a compelling collectively in society. That’s why one of our five core Partnership values As a Partnership we have the great advantage that we can take a long-term view, taking the vision for the future and drives decisions and actions for our business. is ‘Be Yourself. Always’. This recognises that we’re all quirky and proud, right decisions for the long-term benefit of our Partners and customers. We can be bolder and at our best when we are free to be ourselves. We know that, when and more innovative than conventional companies, even in these challenging times. That’s As part of our five-year Partnership Plan, which we launched in October our Partners feel a sense of belonging and are healthy and well, they’re why last year we published for the first time our Be Yourself. Always Report, combining data on 2020, we had an exciting opportunity to update our ambition as a better able to help and support our customers, and can contribute to the gender, ethnicity, age and health and wellbeing. business. We spoke to customers, Partners, suppliers, charities and non- communities where we operate. governmental organisations to understand what matters most to them, and This year we are doing the same and as our reporting evolves, we will report on other where our business can have the biggest impact. As a result, three key areas diversity characteristics. Our objective is to be very open in sharing our data, the progress of focus were identified to try and do good in society: tackling inequality, we make, what is working and what is not. And also to be open to constructive feedback and wellbeing and sustainable living. These have never felt so relevant, especially learn from others to adapt our approach. due to the economic uncertainty and social inequality coming from the pandemic. This report is supported by all of the Executive Team as we truly believe and support the principle that our Founder created many years ago – the happiness and wellbeing of our Partners through worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business. SHARON WHITE Partner & Chairman CONTENTS Message from Sharon White 2 What progess Our diversity: Gender 14 Our purpose and ambition 3 have we made since last year? 6 Our diversity: Ethnicity 18 Our diversity and inclusion plan 4 Hear from our Partners 8 Our diversity: Age 20 Our commitments Cultural moments calendar 9 Hear from our diversity networks 22 to Partners and customers 5 Our health and wellbeing 10 Director statement 23 2 | John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership | 3 BE YOURSELF. ALWAYS REPORT 2020 BE YOURSELF. ALWAYS REPORT 2020 OUR COMMITMENTS OUR DIVERSITY AND TO AND INCLUSION PLAN PARTNERS CUSTOMERS The Partnership was formed almost 100 years ago with the principles and Working Parents, as well as the diversity and inclusion sub-group of of humanity and equality for all at its very heart. We know that, as we Partnership Council. We are also working with a third-party specialist and stand where we are today, we have work to do to keep this alive. It needs expect to publish our finalised plan in the spring. In the meantime, some key relentless focus and leadership over many years but we are prepared to areas of focus include: take bold action. That’s why we are developing a new Partnership-wide diversity and inclusion plan. Part-time working – We will take what we’ve learned from our new 1 Part-Time Advisory Group and continue to gain knowledge so we can Our diversity and inclusion plan has to be agile and start with our purpose. provide greater support to part-time Partners so they can continue to It must link to our commitment to become the UK’s most inclusive business progress within our business. – for both our Partners and customers – reflecting and connecting with the diverse communities that we serve. Like many people around the world, we Supporting ethnic minorities – We formed last year the Black Partner An extraordinary 2020 called for us to focus on listening to our Partners improve their experiences. Through the work of the Part-Time Advisory were shocked by the horrific death of George Floyd and it was a sign of the 2 Advisory Group, which has made leaps and bounds with the way our and customers more than ever and here are some of the commitments we Group, for example, we’ve already influenced a number of internal Partnership’s values that we were able to have an open and honest debate business applies actions and processes that support ethinic minorities. We made. Our Executive Team also made a number of commitments and this processes, with much more to do. with Partners about his death and the wider impact it had on each of us will continue to reach out to more ethnic minority Partners to ensure the included each individually sponsoring one of our seven internal Partnership steps we take are more inclusive and informed by them. networks for Partners. individually and how we operate as a business. C U STO M E R S Our support of Black Lives Matter was not about politics, it was and still Care-experienced people – As part of our five-year Partnership Plan, PARTNERS Responding to Partner feedback, a Kindness Rules statement was created is about basic humanity that is intrinsic to the Partnership’s traditions and 3 we have committed to supporting those who have had experience of for our shops and customer-facing sites to display. The statement details the values. It helped us realise that this moment should be a movement and we the care system by helping them forge a career in the Partnership. We will Provide safe spaces for our Black and other ethnic minorities Partners to Partnership’s stance and approach to abusive behaviour towards Partners, must do more. And our diversity and inclusion plan will guide us. also explore how to provide mentoring support for those in care. talk about what discrimination feels like. This enabled us to understand which also includes racism and discrimination. what we need to do to improve. We have also put a number of initiatives in Our plan is being informed by data and customer and Partner opinion Voluntary Real Living Wage – We will move towards paying all place to continue the conversation and change behaviours, including reverse Adding new brands and products so we can meet more the needs of and is being led by Nikki Humphrey, Executive Director of People. It 4 Partners aged 18 and over the voluntary Real Living Wage when we mentoring and a Black Partner Advisory Group. local communities we serve. For example, in Waitrose, we have been is also receiving input from our seven Partnership networks – Gender expect to reach over £200m profit. This is different to the legally stipulated adding more multi-ethnic cuisines such as Afro-Caribbean and Indian.