Stonewall’s workplace head off to the Olympics
Stephen Frost, the head of workplace programmes at gay equality organisation Stonewall, is leaving to work on the 2012 Olympic Games.
Mr Frost is closely associated with the continuing success of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme.
It has grown from 65 members in 2004 to nearly 300 today, among them some of the biggest companies in the UK, along with government departments and branches of the Armed Forces.
Mr Frost will take up his new role as an executive assistant to the Managing Director of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) in the coming weeks.
He is expected to use his expertise in diversity matters to help the Games reflect the multiple races, religions and sexualities for which London is renowned.
“I have had a fantastic two-and-a-half years at Stonewall,” said Mr Frost.
“We have achieved a lot and grown the programme to its current membership. Now the infrastructure is in place and I wish my successor well.”
Stonewall’s chief executive, Ben Summerskill, paid tribute to Mr Frost’s hard work for the charity.
“We are delighted for Stephen and we hope he will be able to ensure that diversity is delivered by the London Olympics,” he told PinkNews.co.uk
“It is a huge challenge, one which is not yet being met by LOCOG and others, and we hope that Stephen will help them rise to it.”
Diversity was an aspect of London that the city showcased when trying to secure the 2012 Games.
The search is now on to find a candidate to replace Mr Frost as director of workplace programmes at Stonewall.
The Diversity Champions Programme and the annual Workplace Equality Index, which lists the top employers for gay people in the UK, are some of the most high-profile work that Stonewall undertakes.
The Champions Programme consists of organisations that have chosen to work with Stonewall to learn and share best practice on diversity.
It counts as members many organisations that traditionally were not thought of as gay employers, including a Premiership football club, many leading investment banks and financial institutions, numerous police forces and the Royal Navy.
In a farewell email, Mr Frost spoke with pride of what Stonewall has achieved.
“We’re engaged in incredibly important work. I’m thrilled that we are winning the business case for allowing people simply to be themselves.
“In the final analysis, this work goes beyond the business case to a much more fundamental question, one of human dignity.
“It’s only been in the last few years that people who just happen to be gay can truly be themselves at work.”
