Stonewall today publishes its Top 100 Employers 2012, showcasing
Britain's best employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff.
Ernst & Young tops the list, while the Home Office and
Barclays bank comes are second and third respectively.
MI5 secures a position on the Top 100 for the first time, and is
one of 25 new entries. The 2012 Index was revised with the most
demanding criteria to date, introducing new weighting for global
employers that recognises worldwide support for LGB equality.
Accenture wins the award for Employee Network Group of the Year
and the Department of Energy and Climate Change is named Most
Improved Employer. Bill Payne, former Chief Executive of
Metropolitan Housing Partnership, was named Individual Champion of
the Year.
Full results of the 2012 Stonewall Top Employers list will be
announced tonight (January 11) at a ceremony hosted in London by
Ernst & Young where the Top Employer award will be presented by
Minister for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, MP.
'Competition for a place in the Top 100 was fiercer than ever this
year,' says Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive. 'With new,
more demanding criteria, every employer securing a position in the
Top 100 has performed impressively - and the participating
employers collectively employ over 1.9 million people. The Index
remains a powerful tool used by Britain's 1.7 million gay employees
and 150,000 gay university students to decide where to take their
talent and skills.'
Liz Bingham, Managing Partner for People at Ernst & Young,
said: 'A strong commitment to diversity and inclusiveness is not
only important for our people, but is also a business imperative in
what is an increasingly competitive and interconnected
world.'
Jonathan Evans, director general of MI5, said: 'The Security
Service has worked hard in recent years to promote equality and
diversity across all areas of its work. We are pleased to be
recognised by Stonewall, but there is still more we can do. We will
continue to support lesbian, gay and bisexual staff to make MI5 a
truly inclusive place to work.'
The Index is based on a range of key indicators which this year
included a confidential survey of lesbian, gay and bisexual
employees, with over 7,500 participants. This consistently
confirmed that the satisfaction levels of gay staff were highest at
the top-ranking organisations in the Index.
