How they did it!

Other major achievers included Merseyside Police who were debutants in the index but were placed a very commendable eighth, the highest of any debutant in its five year history.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, explained: “To make the Top 100 this year, employers had to demonstrate that equality and diversity was not an optional extra but a core value.”

These core values were evident with banking giants Lloyds TSB – given the honour of being the top employer for gay people. Fiona Cannon, equality and diversity director, said: “We’re obviously delighted to win, firstly because it’s an extended recognition of the work that we’ve done but it’s also great because we really value the Stonewall index, it’s objective and thorough, so coming top is really encouraging.”

What did Lloyds TSB do this year to make them stand out from the rest? Cannon said talking to their staff has been important but also a visibility from the board downwards has also been an objective.

“Our deputy chief executive has met with members of our LGB network, Spectrum, to talk to them so he can understand what the issues are, and we report to the board on a half-yearly basis, so our board are very involved,” she added. “Our chief executive has also been involved in all of the communication and research we have done. So there’s a real commitment from the top of the organisation to this issue and I think that has fed through.”

Public visibility is also seen as an important issue to the company, Cannon said: “We’ve been raising our profile externally too, we’ve sponsored Pride for the last couple of years so again that’s a visible demonstration, so I think the whole visible commitment issue has made a big difference.”

Diversity within the LGB group has been recognised, Cannon said: “Through our research and talking to staff we’ve found that lesbians in the organisation have a more difficult time than gay men for example, so what we’ve started to do is to start to develop our strategy in the way that reflects the differing needs within the broader LGB population.”

The old adage says that once at the top, the only way is down, but there are plans to build on their success with a focus on educating the managers to create an inclusive workplace. Cannon said: “As a line manager their responsibility is to create a culture which is accepting of all their staff and is encouraging and allows people to develop to their full potential, so that is the focus of our work over the next year.”

Simmons & Simmons, the international law firm, were rated as the “most improved” company in the index. Daniel Winterfeldt, their US securities partner, said: “We were happy just to enter the top 100, we were thrilled when we found out we were most improved employer and we were actually stunned when we found out how high we ranked.”

The company has worked over the past year with various projects such as; revamping the diversity programme, creating a specific diversity week, amending the human resources policy, and working closely with Interlaw Diversity Forum.

Winterfeldt said: “It’s a huge honour and a testament to how much work the organisation has done and how much effort they’ve put in.”

The index has helped them to focus on the wider issue of equality and diversity.

Winterfeldt said: “We said we shouldn’t be doing things just for the sake of the survey; but we want to do things that are actually fit for the firm and help the firm that are not just LGBT focused, but focused on all the strands of diversity.”

Winterfeldt notes a massive improvement in diversity in recent years among the legal profession with four law firms appearing in this year’s index. He hopes it continues to improve this year: “Our goal is to keep on improving our entire diversity and inclusion programme. But what I’d like to see is the whole legal sector move forwards. I’m less worried about how Simmons ranks and I want to see more law firms in the top 100.”

The Home Office finished top of the “Employee Network of the Year” category, with its support group Spectrum being rewarded for its hard work.

Debbie Browett, chair of Spectrum, said: “I’m very proud, not just for the 21 representatives who worked very hard, but also for the Home Office who have given us their support. We have done a lot of work with colleagues on the impact being gay has on the individual.”

Spectrum’s success has been down to a joint effort. She said: “We have a membership of 400 LGBT people and a large number of friends, who have helped us in our efforts.”

So how can they improve? Browett said: “We hope to increase community involvement, and to see whether we can get the Home Office departments to show they are engaging [with the LGBT community].”

Spectrum hopes to help gay employees in regional areas and they are planning six events for next February as well as four conferences over the next year.

The Pink Paper’s readers also nominated their own “employer of the year” with the NHS coming out on top. The organisation did not feature prominently in the Stonewall index but they are obviously doing a great job according to you.

Carol Baxter, head of equality and diversity for NHS Employers, said: “We’re very pleased, we’ve been working with the NHS organisations to support them to be inclusive.

“We are the largest employer [of gay people] in Europe and therefore it is important that the NHS is seen as a leader in creating an inclusive workplace.

“People perform better when they can be themselves and this also benefits patients.”
NHS Employers are currently very active in promoting a gay-friendly workplace, not just internally, and produce jointly with Stonewall a list of Ten Top Tips in Employing Gays and Lesbians.

So what for the future? With just one NHS organisation in the Stonewall Index this year, Baxter said: “Our 20 Diversity Champion NHS organisations are entering the Stonewall Diversity Index later this year.” So look out for their appearance in the index this time next year – if our reader’s awards are anything to go by, they may be adding to their trophy cabinet.

The increased number of participants in the index shows organisations are considering the needs of their gay employees to a greater extent, which is excellent news for gays in the UK; the challenge now is for companies to try to make it to the top next year.