Stonewall says assembly is ‘a trailblazer for equality’, especially for trans people

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The national assembly for Wales has been named Britain’s best employer for LGBT staff in Stonewall’s annual list of top 100 LGBT-inclusive employers.

The list drawn up by Britain’s leading charity for LGBT equality included the law firm Pinsent Masons, the housing association Gentoo, Lloyds Banking Group and Newcastle city council.



The Welsh assembly, which came in fifth last year, was praised for having a range of policies for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff and for introducing measures to improve the workplace for transgender employees. These included updating their workplace systems to offer an Mx title as well as a space for staff to give their own gender term on forms. The assembly has also introduced gender-neutral facilities.

Ruth Hunt, Stonewall’s chief executive, said: “At a time when LGBT people are subject to profound discrimination and abuse, both in and out of the workplace, our LGBT-inclusive employers are a welcome beacon of hope that a positive future is possible.

“The national assembly for Wales is a trailblazer for equality, especially for trans equality, and we’d like other organisations to look at the straightforward, positive actions they have taken and follow the example they have set.”

She said creating an accepting work environment made good business sense.

“When staff feel comfortable, happy and understood, they will, of course, perform much better than if they’re having to hide who they are, or if they’re scared to go to work for fear of abuse.”

The assembly member Elin Jones said: “The national assembly has diversity and inclusion at the very heart of its role representing the people of Wales.

‘We are proud to support our LGBT staff network and continue to work to create an inclusive culture – not only for the people who work here but for the people we represent across all Wales’s diverse communities.”

For the first time Stonewall’s annual review marked employers specifically on trans inclusivity.

More than 430 employers were in contention for a spot. The top 10 employers were a diverse mix of organisations, with both public and private sector representation.

Media and manufacturing firms made the list for the first time in recent years, with Sky coming in at 29, and GSK at 21.

Stonewall collected more than 92,000 anonymous responses from employees on their experience of workplace culture and diversity, making it one of Britain’s largest national employment surveys.

Earlier this month the group released research that showed half of trans people (51%) have hidden their identity at work for fear of discrimination or abuse, and that one in eight trans employees (12%) have been physically attacked by colleagues or customers in the past year.

Top 10 LGBT-inclusive employers:

National assembly for Wales Pinsent Masons Gentoo Cheshire fire and rescue service Lloyds Banking Group Baker McKenzie Berwin Leighton Paisner Citi Newcastle city council Victim Support

Top trans-inclusive employers (unranked):

Baker McKenzie

Berwin Leighton Paisner

Cardiff University

Gentoo

Lloyds Banking Group

National assembly for Wales

Pinsent Masons

Swansea University

The University of Manchester

Victim Support

Your Homes Newcastle