Stonewall has just published it’s Top 100 Employers 2011 for gay staff and whilst you might expect some entertainment orientated company to be there, the leading gay employer actually appears to be the Home Office with Lloyds Banking Group and Ernst & Young coming second and third respectively and Barclays winning the award for Employee Network Group of the Year and Baker & McKenzie LLP is named Most Improved Employer.

Speaking about the top placing of the Home Office, Home Secretary Theresa May said:

‘I’m delighted the Home Office is being celebrated as an employer which supports the diversity of its staff. This Government will continue to do all it can to tackle discrimination and help make this country a more tolerant and fair place for everybody.’

Coming to the result via a range of different key indicators including a confidential survey of lesbian, gay and bisexual employees that saw over 9000 participants, this is the first time since the Index began in 2005 that a central government position has come top. There is also a first for sport with the Rugby Football League being the first sports employer to secure a position and ITV is the first broadcaster to enter the Top 100.

Full results of the 2011 Stonewall Top Employers list will be announced at a ceremony held tonight (January 12) in London hosted by law firm Herbert Smith with Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive commenting that:

‘Competition was fiercer than ever to secure a place on the 2011 Top Employers List, we received more entries than any previous year. The Index is 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.’

Gary Senior, Managing Partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP, said of their award that:

‘We’re delighted and proud to receive the Most Improved Employer Award. Success in the Workplace Equality Index illustrates our commitment to maintaining a culture that is respectful of all differences and which enables people to be the best they can be.’

whilst Jo Fraser, Change Director, Chair of Spectrum Barclays said of their prize that:

I’m absolutely delighted that the Barclays Spectrum has been awarded Employee Network Group of the Year. We work very hard to be a force for good for our colleagues, community, customers and our company. Everyone involved in our network and across our company should take pride in this award,’

Photo credit: UK Home Office

Stonewall has released it’s 2010 Top 100 Employers list which acts to highlight the most gay friendly employers in Britain which this year has seen IBM taking the top spot, with the Hampshire Constabulary coming in second and accountancy firm Ernst & Young coming in third. Ernst & Young were also winners in the category of Employee Network Group of The Year whilst Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust was awarded the prize of Most Improved Employer.

Basing The Work Equality Index on a number of different indicators, the 2010 survey is the largest yet with over 7000 employees participating and saw IBM revealed as consistently having the highest staff satisfaction levels. The survey was also able to reveal that the levels of satisfaction at the top 25 in the list were almost as much as 10 percent higher than companies based outside of the Top 100. In terms of being out and open at work, the survey found that people were also more likely to disclose their sexual orientation in monitoring exercises at the highest ranking organisations.

IBM have long been known as being a supportive environment for the LGBT community and this win sees them take the top spot for the second time in four years, but don’t think that this means they have not acted to progress and improve over these four years because quite the opposite is true as the minimum score on the Top 100 had increased by ten percent meaning IBM had to have raised it’s came to win. This is the second time in four years that IBM has been named the most gay-friendly employer. Their success reflects the effectiveness of continual improvement as the minimum score to win a place on the 2010 Top 100 was ten per cent higher.

The results of  the 2010 Stonewall Top Employers list were announced at a winner’s ceremony, hosted by international law firm Simmons & Simmons, in London on the 13th January, with the Stonewall Chief Executive, Ben Summerskill saying ‘Competition was fiercer than ever to secure a place on the 2010 Top Employers List … We received more entries than any previous year from employers who understand and have benefited from Stonewall’s research which found that gay people are far more likely to buy goods or services from companies they know are gay-friendly. The Index is 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.’

The winners of the awards also spoke of what the awards meant to their company with the Chief Executive Officer  of IBM UK & Ireland, Brendon Riley saying: ‘IBM is extremely proud to accept this important accolade. In 2009 we celebrated the 25th anniversary of IBM’s global LGB non-discrimination policy – but we’re constantly looking for new ways to enrich and broaden the scope of what we can achieve. At IBM, we pride ourselves on delivering a working environment which reflects equality of opportunity and experience for all. Diversity constitutes our character, our identity and ultimately our success – it is in our DNA.’

Mike Cooke, Chief Executive, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. said ‘Nottinghamshire Healthcare is delighted to receive this award … It reflects the commitment and hard work of our staff, service users and carers in championing a culture of fairness; where equality and diversity are central to everything we do. We believe that our participation in the Workplace Equality Index will be of real benefit to our staff and the people who use our services.” whilst Cameron Cartmell of Ernst & Young said ” am thrilled that EYGLES has been awarded Employee Network Group of the Year … It’s wonderful to work for a firm where I can be myself and EYGLES has been a key part in achieving this. I’ve been particularly impressed with the way EYGLES has influenced the broader diversity and inclusiveness agenda at Ernst & Young.’

The full list of the 100 top gay friendly employers were:

1 IBM
2 Hampshire Constabulary
3 Ernst & Young
4 Brighton & Hove City Council
5 Goldman Sachs
6 Home Office
7 London Borough of Tower Hamlets
8 Manchester City Council
9 Kent Police
9 Nacro
11 Environment Agency for England & Wales
11 London Borough of Islington
13 Merseyside Police
13 Transport for London
15 Simmons & Simmons
16 Gentoo Group
17 East Sussex County Council
17 Foreign & Commonwealth Office
19 Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
19 West Midlands Police
21 Metropolitan Police Service
22 Barclays
23 Cheshire Constabulary
23 Greater Manchester Police
25 London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority
25 West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
27 Metropolitan Housing Partnership
27 National Offender Management Service
29 Ford
30 Accenture
30 Newcastle City Council
32 Leicestershire County Council
32 Newham College
34 Staffordshire Police
34 Sussex Police
36 Credit Suisse
36 Gloucestershire County Council
36 Pinsent Masons
39 British Transport Police
39 Deloitte LLP
41 Shaw Trust
42 Scottish Government
43 Kirklees Council
43 London Borough of Hackney
45 HM Revenue & Customs
45 NHS Tower Hamlets
47 Lancashire Constabulary
47 National Assembly for Wales
47 Sheffield City Council
50 London Borough of Barking & Dagenham
50 North Wales Police
50 Suffolk Constabulary
50 Thames Valley Police
54 Aviva plc
54 Suffolk County Council & Customer Service Direct
56 Herbert Smith LLP
56 Ministry of Justice
58 American Express
58 Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
60 Birmingham City Council
60 Hertfordshire Constabulary
60 Procter & Gamble UK
63 Crown Prosecution Service
63 Derbyshire County Council
63 PricewaterhouseCoopers
63 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
67 East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
67 J.P. Morgan
67 Morgan Stanley
70 Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service
70 Ministry of Defence Police & Guarding Agency
70 North East Ambulance Service
73 Ministry of Defence
73 West Mercia Constabulary
75 Cardiff Council
75 Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
75 National Audit Office
75 National Grid
79 Imperial College London
79 The Co-operative
79 West Yorkshire Police
82 Berneslai Homes
82 Bury Council
82 London Borough of Waltham Forest
85 Department of Health
85 Eversheds LLP
85 Liverpool John Moores University
88 Citizens Advice
88 Warwickshire County Council
90 Cambridgeshire County Council
90 Your Homes Newcastle
92 Cambridge City Council
92 Skillset Sector Skills Council
92 Victim Support
95 Land Registry
95 Royal Bank of Scotland Group
97 Blackpool Council
97 Department for International Development
97 Knowsley Housing Trust
100 Nottinghamshire County Council

You can find out more about The Workplace Equality Index via the Stone Top 100 Employers 2010 PDF which is available to download on the Stonewall website.