Emma Back

Hello, I am Emma from Equal Care Co-op, and I firmly believe that cooperatives offer significant benefits to the real economy. At Equal Care, we operate as a platform co-op that provides care and support, co-owned by all our members—including those receiving support, workers, and family members. A key principle we champion is self-determination or what we call ‘local autonomy at scale.’ This principle allows us to use our platform as an enabling layer, uniting diverse groups to tackle the severe exploitation prevalent in social care. This exploitation affects workers, people receiving support, and family members, not just in the UK but globally.

Each local group within our co-op can decide whether to incorporate independently or continue as members of the broader cooperative, using our platform to facilitate their operations. Our cooperative foundation ensures we remain true to our mission of redistributing power within social care. Additionally, unlike many platforms, we place a strong emphasis on education as a fundamental cooperative principle. This focus allows for career progression and skill development, especially for our care and support workers, enabling them to broaden their career paths beyond traditional roles. Our goal is to eliminate the constant cycle of care workers moving from one agency to another without direction, providing them with stability and growth opportunities.