Newcastle council has been revealed as the most LGBTQ-inclusive employer in the UK according to Stonewall’s 2020 top employers list.
This is the first time a local authority has claimed the top spot in the 16 years the list has been running, narrowly beating Gentoo Group (a housing association in Sunderland), and Cheshire fire and rescue service.
Others in the top 10 include international law firm Pinsent Masons, the Ministry of Justice, GlaxoSmithKline, CITI investment banking group, the national assembly for Wales, the Welsh government and Cardiff University.
The Top 100 is the UK’s leading list ranking employers from public, private and third sectors on how inclusive their workplaces are - more than 500 organisations entered for a place in 2020.
Stonewall surveys staff who submit to the Workplace Equality Index and collects more than 109,000 anonymous responses.
Newcastle council came fifth in the list last year and have been the highest-ranking local authority for three years. Stonewall say they won because LGBT inclusion is “embedded across all areas of their work” from HR policies to recruitment processes and internal comms.
They also ran events including the "7 days of Pride" campaign in the run up to Newcastle Pride, and celebrations to mark Bi Visibility Day, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and Trans Day of Remembrance.
Cllr Joyce McCarty, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “I’m incredibly proud that our commitment to inclusivity has been recognised with this accolade.
"This is really an award for everybody in our city who shows us every day that we are all equal and that our great city accepts everyone.”
Other high-ranking employers include the University of Sheffield, central and north west London NHS foundation trust, Vodafone, Bank of America, Barclays, and the environment agency.
For the second year running, education organisations have come top of the class in this year’s Top 100, with 16 making the list. The legal sector came a close second with 15 firms on the list.
Elsewhere in the list Sky has soared to 28, while Channel 4 lands at 35 in its debut. Sainsburys is Britain’s only supermarket on this year’s Top 100, coming in at 71.
Law firm DWF also received special commendation as this year’s Bi-Inclusive Employer of the Year. DWF hosted a bi-inclusion seminar for all staff, supported Bi Visibility Day and shared resources with staff about the barriers bisexual people face.
Sanjay Sood-Smith, Stonewall’s executive director, said: ‘We spend most of our lives at work, so getting workplace inclusion right makes a huge difference in the lives of so many LGBT people.
“Newcastle City Council is paving the way for others to follow when it comes to putting LGBT inclusion and equality at the heart of their workplace.
