Our Trust has been named as one of the UK’s most inclusive employers by Stonewall, Europe’s largest charity for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people (LGBTQ+).
In the Stonewall Top 100 Employers List for 2022, we're ranked 94th in recognition of our actions and commitment to creating welcoming environments for LGBTQ+ staff in the workplace. The Trust has also been awarded the prestigious, new Stonewall Gold Equality Standard Employer Award.
The Top 100 Employers List measures organisations against the Workplace Equality Index (WEI) - a set of standardised criteria used to measure the support provided to LGBTQ+ staff and inclusive practices in the workplace.
The Trust's LGBTQ+ Staff Network has worked with other operational teams across to make policies and procedures more inclusive and supportive of diversity. The effectiveness of these changes has been borne out in the responses to anonymous staff surveys about people’s experiences of diversity and inclusion at work.
David Mander, Chair of our LGBTQ+ Staff Network, said: “I’m so pleased to see that our improved ranking has put us in Stonewall’s Top 100 this year. This achievement builds on the work we’ve undertaken within the Trust for the past several years while being a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme. I’m also thrilled that we surpassed our targets this year to achieve the Gold Equality Standard Employer Award.”
For the last twenty years, Stonewall has been supporting employers to create inclusive workplaces for LGBTQ+ people. According to the charity’s research, more than a third of LGBTQ+ staff hide who they are at work, while one in five have been the target of negative comments because of their sexuality or gender identity.