Stonewall 100: MI5 named among top LGBT-inclusive employers

Law firm Pinsent Masons has been named the best LGBT employer in the country

Equality charity Stonewall has revealed its list of the best LGBT employers, including a bank, a fire brigade and security service MI5.

With more businesses across the world beginning to recognise the importance of inclusivity in the workforce, Stonewall has compiled a list of the top LGBT-inclusive employers in the UK.

The LGBT charity accumulated more than 92,000 responses from UK employees on their experiences in the work place and gathered submissions via Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index.

As recently as the early 1990s, MI5 had a ban in place on recruiting gay people to its ranks, however the security service has now been named as one of the UK’s most gay-friendly employers.

Placing at number four on the list, MI5 completes a remarkable shift in culture. The domestic intelligence agency was previously ranked 25 in the Stonewall rankings in 2013 and seventh in 2015, before being named the UK’s most LGBT-friendly employer in 2016.

Meanwhile, law firm Pinsent Masons has been recognised as the best LGBT employer in the country for 2019, with Stonewall calling it a “shining example” for how it ensures that “staff feel empowered and supported.”

Other names in the charity’s annual list came from various industries, including prominent names like MI5, Citi, Lloyds Banking Group, the Welsh government, Newcastle City Council and Baker McKenzie.

Stonewall said the law firm topped the list because of its inclusive policies, attitudes towards transgender staff and visitors, and involvement in campaigns – including marriage equality in Northern Ireland.

“LGBT-inclusive employers play a crucial role in changing society by using their power and influence to proudly support LGBT people in their organisations,” said Darren Towers, Stonewall’s executive director.

“Our number one employer of 2019, Pinsent Masons, is leading the way, championing lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality in the workplace.

“They know that helping staff feel that they can bring their full selves to work doesn’t just make a huge difference to individual team members – it makes real business sense too.”

In 2018, a survey by Stonewall found that more than a third of LGBT staff hadn’t been open at work about their gender identity or sexual orientation, as they feared discrimination.

It also revealed that nearly one in five LGBT employees surveyed had been subjected to negative comments or conduct from other colleagues in the past year.