Sainsbury's DEI push: 2028 targets, new programs, and what changes for staff and shoppers

A supermarket shelf can say more about a company’s values than any glossy ad. Who gets promoted, which brands get shelf space, whose names get pronounced correctly at work — these choices tell you how seriously a business takes inclusion. Sainsbury’s is putting a clear stake in the ground: make diversity, equity and inclusion a core part of how the grocer hires, promotes, designs stores, and builds its supplier base.

The retailer has set public 2028 targets for senior ranks: 50% women and 15% ethnically diverse representation across senior leadership and senior management. Right now, it sits at 42% women and 11.3% ethnically diverse colleagues in those roles, so there’s distance to cover and a clock ticking. It also holds the UK Government’s top Disability Confident tier, known as “Leader,” and supports five colleague networks with more than 13,000 members. The plan is broad, and it’s meant to reach both colleagues and customers.

What Sainsbury’s says it will change by 2028

Sainsbury’s is building around four pillars it believes will move the numbers and the culture:

• Personal responsibility: every colleague has a role in making the environment inclusive.
• Leadership accountability: leaders set the tone and must role-model inclusive decisions.
• Levelling the playing field: remove structural barriers that hold some people back.
• Moving the dial for customers: make shops and products inclusive, accessible, and culturally sensitive.

That last pillar matters for a grocer. “Inclusive” isn’t just an HR word; it shows up in aisle layouts, packaging that is easy to read, gender-inclusive product choices, and ranges that reflect the communities nearby. Sainsbury’s says it wants stores and products to be accessible and culturally sensitive. In practice, that can mean better signage, clearer pricing, adaptive product features, and ranges that speak to diverse households. The goal is not a one-off campaign but steady adjustments that make shopping easier for more people.

The internal work runs just as deep. The company reports steady progress toward its 2028 leadership mix, but progress isn’t linear. Promotions, hiring cycles, and attrition can swing numbers each quarter. Hitting 50% women and 15% ethnically diverse representation will likely rely on two levers: growing a strong internal pipeline and bringing in external talent where gaps persist. Both depend on fair processes, not one-off pledges.

On process, Sainsbury’s says it is tightening recruitment and promotion basics. Inclusive job ads that welcome candidates across race, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation. Objective hiring with structured interviews and consistent scoring. Unconscious bias training for recruiters. And clearer data so leaders see where talent stalls. These are not shiny initiatives; they’re the guardrails that decide who gets in and who gets on.

Culture shows up in small details, too. Name badges now include pronouns and phonetics, a simple fix that can spare awkward moments at tills and team huddles. Free period products sit in all colleagues’ bathrooms — a signal that dignity at work matters, whether you’re on nights or weekends. The company has “Corporate Keep in Touch” sessions so people on extended parental leave can stay connected without pressure to return early. And it has reviewed the workplace adjustments process to make it easier for disabled colleagues to get the tools and setups they need to do their best work.

Training and development get a targeted push. The “Accelerate YOU” program is designed to help ethnically diverse colleagues progress faster by focusing on skills, stretch opportunities, and sponsorship. Sainsbury’s also backed the 2023 Diversity in Retail Ethnic Future Leaders Programme and enrolled the largest cohort from any retailer that year. The idea is straightforward: people move up when they have access to opportunities and when decision-makers know and back their work.

Networks matter in big organizations, and Sainsbury’s now has five with more than 13,000 members. These groups span themes such as gender, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability, and caregiving, creating space to share experiences and pressure-test new policies. They’re not just social groups — they can act like sounding boards, surfacing issues early and helping teams avoid unforced errors in store or online.

Measurement is the spine of all this. Without clean data — hiring, promotion, pay, engagement — inclusion efforts drift. The company points to leadership accountability, which in practical terms means regular reporting, leader-led action plans, and tough questions when progress stalls. Most UK employers now publish a gender pay gap. Many also share ethnicity data and set public goals even where the law doesn’t require it. Sainsbury’s is leaning into that direction with its senior leadership targets.

On disability, the retailer has reached the top rung of the government’s Disability Confident scheme, called Leader. The scheme has three levels — Committed, Employer, and Leader. Leader status signals that an employer not only hires and supports disabled people but also shares best practice with others. For a grocer, that spans accessible recruitment, reasonable adjustments at pace, disability-aware customer service training, and more accessible digital services for colleagues and customers.

The calendar matters, too. Sainsbury’s marks more than 30 events a year, with emphasis on Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Disability Week, Carers Week, and Pride Month. These moments are more than posters in the break room when they come with learning sessions, storytelling from colleagues, and practical changes that outlast the event itself. Done well, they build understanding. Done badly, they turn into noise. The retailer’s challenge is to keep them grounded in action.

Inside the programs: from hiring to suppliers

The company’s supplier diversity move is unusually concrete for UK retail. “Thrive with Sainsbury’s” is a £1 million investment in a 16-week program backing Black founder-led brands. Nine founders get over 150 hours of practical support — one-to-one and group sessions — plus grant funding. The aim is to quadruple the number of Black-founded brands in Sainsbury’s portfolio. That’s a clear metric shoppers will see on shelves if the program succeeds.

Supplier diversity can feel abstract until you unpack how retail listings work. Small founders often struggle with packaging that meets rules, pricing that covers costs and retailer margins, and the operational demands of serving dozens or hundreds of stores. A well-designed program doesn’t just teach “pitching skills.” It helps with the nuts and bolts: pack sizes, barcodes, shelf-ready packaging, promotional calendars, and forecasting. It also connects founders to buyers and supply chain teams so the first few months on shelf don’t become the last.

Signing the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter pulls Sainsbury’s into a wider accountability circle. The charter sets out actions like having an executive sponsor for race, collecting and publishing data, and rooting out racially biased processes. The company also points to its 2020 Race Equality Award from BITC for work on ethnic minority talent and a more inclusive hiring process. Awards are snapshots, not guarantees, but they do show the business is putting its work up for outside scrutiny.

Back inside the organization, recruitment is where inclusion either bites or breaks. Sainsbury’s says it uses job ads that welcome candidates of all backgrounds and trains recruiters on bias. Add in structured interviews, consistent scoring, and skills-based assessments, and you reduce the role of gut feel — which is often just familiarity bias. The company also puts weight on leadership participation. When executives show up to sponsor programs, mentor, and review data, the rest of the organization pays attention.

Levelling the playing field means removing practical barriers, not just setting lofty targets. That includes a smoother adjustments process for disabled colleagues so support — software, equipment, flexible hours — arrives quickly. It includes clearer return-to-work pathways for new parents, so career momentum isn’t lost. It includes making learning pathways visible and open, so progression isn’t limited to people already “in the know.” The DEI hub Sainsbury’s set up bundles resources and guidance so people can find answers without wading through red tape.

The pronouns-and-phonetics move on name badges is a good example of low-cost, high-signal change. Mispronouncing someone’s name or guessing their pronouns chips away at belonging. Getting it right helps colleagues and customers interact with respect. Some shoppers will welcome it. Some will question it. That’s the reality of any change that touches identity. The company’s position is that clarity and respect cut through awkwardness — and it means fewer avoidable frictions at checkouts and counters.

Progress to 2028 won’t happen without attention to the messy middle — the layer of managers who decide who gets the next shift pattern, the next training slot, the next project. Leadership accountability matters here. If managers get regular feedback on their team’s promotion, retention, and pay outcomes — broken down by gender, ethnicity, disability, and other lenses — they can spot gaps early. When they don’t, bias hides in averages. The promise is that data and coaching, not blame, become the default response.

Customers will notice inclusion most in how easy stores are to use and how relevant products feel. Sainsbury’s talks about making its shops inclusive and accessible. That can show up in aisle spacing, lower counters at checkouts, clearer shelf-edge labels, and product information that’s easier to read. It can also show up in ranges that reflect local communities, from everyday staples to seasonal goods. The retailer’s message is that inclusion is just good retail: understand who shops with you and design around them.

There is also the question of reputation and risk. Big brands that talk about inclusion face pushback in a polarized environment. Some colleagues may worry about saying the wrong thing. Some customers may complain about “politics in supermarkets.” Sainsbury’s frames its approach as a business need. The workforce and the customer base are diverse. Policies that help people feel welcome — and help them succeed — improve service and performance. The retailer is betting that steady, practical actions beat one-off statements.

The numbers set a clear scoreboard. Moving from 42% to 50% women in senior roles is achievable if the pipeline is steady and attrition is managed. Moving from 11.3% to 15% ethnically diverse leaders can be tougher if representation is uneven across functions. That often means focusing on tech, commercial, supply chain, and finance, where entry routes and promotion gates differ. It also means paying attention to sponsorship — not just mentoring — so talented people get visible opportunities.

The disability agenda tends to be a test of operational follow-through. Leader status in the Disability Confident scheme is a start. The harder part is consistency: getting adjustments in days, not months; making sure software is compatible with screen readers; training managers to ask the right questions and avoid assumptions; designing rosters that work for people managing health conditions; and ensuring recruitment portals are accessible. Each of those choices signals whether disabled colleagues will thrive.

Events like Pride Month or Black History Month draw attention, but the day-to-day is what builds trust. Do shift swaps penalize carers? Do team meetings accommodate different religious observances? Can people book quiet spaces or prayer rooms where sites allow? While not every site can offer everything, the principle is clear: make it easier for people to bring their best, and the business gains.

Supplier diversity will be a visible proof point in the months ahead. The nine founders in the Thrive program will need more than classroom time. They’ll need test-and-learn listings, feedback loops with buyers, support on promotions, and clear performance metrics. If the goal is to quadruple Black-founded brands on shelves, shoppers should see a broader mix across categories. And if the brands sell through, the case for expanding the program writes itself.

One tension to watch is the difference between participation and outcomes. It’s easy to count people in training. It’s harder to track whether they were promoted or moved into roles with bigger scope and pay. Sainsbury’s says leadership accountability is central. Expect to see more transparent reporting on outcomes, not just inputs. That’s where credibility comes from.

What will change for customers? The retailer points to shops and products becoming more inclusive, accessible, and culturally sensitive. In practical terms, that could shape signage choices, store layouts, product ranges, and packaging design. It could also inform how colleagues are trained to help — whether that’s guiding someone to a product that fits their needs, or handling sensitive conversations with care.

What will change for colleagues? More consistent hiring practices, clearer promotion routes, targeted development, faster adjustments, and everyday changes that make work easier — from the bathrooms to the break rooms to the rota. The colleague networks and DEI hub should give people a place to raise issues and find help. The “Accelerate YOU” track and external sponsorships can open doors that were often closed.

There’s a wider industry angle here. UK retailers face tight margins and intense competition. Inclusion can sound like a nice-to-have until you connect it to turnover costs, training spend, customer loyalty, and supplier innovation. Getting representation and belonging right reduces churn, cuts hiring costs, and boosts service quality. On the supplier side, fresh brands bring new customers and energy to categories that have gone stale.

None of this replaces the basics: good value, reliable availability, clean stores, and helpful people. The claim is that a more inclusive workforce delivers those basics better. When people feel seen and supported, they tend to stay longer and do better work. When the brand reflects its shoppers, trust grows.

That’s the bet behind Sainsbury's DEI plan. The milestones are public. The programs are in motion. The real test is whether the experience inside stores and inside teams matches the promise. If it does, the numbers should follow — on the leadership dashboard and at the tills.