Gscene News Archive

The police service, banks and management consultants topped the league table of gay-friendly employers in Britain, outperforming the public sector, the media and education, according to the latest Stonewall workplace equality index.

High street and investment banks fared particularly well, with Lloyds TSB rising from sixth in the 2008 table to take the number one slot this year.

Three police services featured in the top ten, including Hampshire Constabulary in second place and Kent Police at fourth, while 17 forces were listed in the top 100. Sussex Police entered the index for the first time at 92.

Inspector David Derrick, who submitted the application for Sussex Police, said:
“It is a fantastic achievement for Sussex Police to be in the top 100, selected out of 318 organisations employing around five million people.”

Now in its fifth year, the index tracks the impact of workplace culture on gay, lesbian and bisexual employees. The 2009 index, which also included a survey of more than 7,000 gay and lesbian employees, had a record 371 entries across 23 sectors. This is more than double the number of submissions in the 2005 launch year.

Some sectors, such as law and housing, have improved markedly year on year.

Organisations that apply to be included in the index are examined on the success of their diversity policies and the extent to which they encourage job applications from lesbian and gay workers.

Stonewall also surveys gay employees on whether their workplace experiences match up to the claims made by employers.

The country’s single largest employer, the NHS, was notable for its absence in the upper reaches of the index. Only one NHS trust, Tower Hamlets, was among the best, ranked at 58.

The voluntary sector did not feature strongly, although last year’s overall winner, the crime charity Nacro, remained in the top ten. The media industry, which might have been expected to perform better, has consistently failed to make an impression on the index.

Only five media companies entered this year and just one, Time Warner, made it into the top 100, in 90th place.

Despite being the only council in the country to be named as a discriminatory employer by the Times Educational Supplement, Tory-controlled Brighton & Hove City Council rose from ninth place in 2008 to number three in the 2009 index, coming in as the top performing council in the country.

Chief executive of Stonewall, Ben Summerskill, said:
“The bar was set even higher for the 2009 index than in previous years, with additional proof of long-term effectiveness required from entrants. To make the top 100 this year, employers had to demonstrate that equality and diversity were not optional extras but core values. Ninety-seven percent of the top 100 had an organisation-wide equality and diversity strategy, which links LGB equality into wider organisational aims."