These are the best employers for LGBT people
“I have really open and appreciative friends who I haven’t talked to about this yet, but I know they’ll be there to help me” (Pexels)
The top global employers for LGBT inclusivity have been announced by the charity Stonewall.
The companies listed on the charity’s Global Employers for 2018 are: Accenture, Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Barclays PLC, BP, Dentons, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Pinsent MAsons, Royal Bank of Scotland, SAP, Simmons & Simmons, Vodafone and Zurich Insurance Group.
Ruth Hunt, the chief executive of Stonewall said: “LGBT people face discrimination, violence and isolation in every country in the world.
“In more than 70 countries, consensual same-sex activity remains illegal, and the death penalty exists in eight. Only six countries allow trans people to self-determine their gender.
Research shows LGBT people face discrimination in the workplace
“At a time when global LGBT rights are under threat of going backwards, we’re proud to work alongside our Top Global Employers, who operate in some extremely difficult contexts, to ensure all people are protected and welcome at work, wherever they are.”
The criteria on which the organisations are marked include employee policy, training, staff engagement, leadership, monitoring, community engagement, procurement and understanding local context, global mobility and additional in-country activity.
Hunt will present three additional awards to the three global employers at an event in London this week.
Accenture will receive the Global Ally Programme Award and Global Community Engagement Award, while Baker McKenzie will be awarded the Global LGBT Network Award.
Vittorio Colao, group CEO of Vodafone Group Plc, is to be recognised with the Global Senior Champion Award.
Stonewall has revealed the most LGBT-inclusive global employers
Last year, research published by the job site CV-Library found one in nine UK employees have experienced homophobic bullying in the workplace.
Of 1,2000 UK workers, 11.7 percent had been bullied because of their sexuality and a further 15.4% of employees had witnessed a colleague dealing with discrimination or prejudice based on their sexual orientation.
A separate study, published by the IZA Institute of Labour Economics in Germany, found gay employees face a “glass ceiling” when it comes to reaching the highest-level managerial positions.
The research showed gay employees were less likely to be promoted to higher-level management jobs than their heterosexual counterparts, despite having similar work experience and education.
Transgender workers also face discrimination, with one in three employers saying they were less likely to hire a trans employee, according to a poll of 1,000 workplaces by Crossland Employment Solicitors.
Beverley Sunderland, managing director of the company, said a “prejudiced attitude” had been found “throughout both shop floor and management in particular in the retail and tech sectors.”
