Stonewall | THIS firm named UK's top LGBT+ employer

Lesbian, bisexual, gay and trans equality charity Stonewall has today published its prestigious list of the 100 top employers for the LGBT community, in which Newcastle City Council was named number one.

Stonewall stated that this is the first time that the local authority had taken the number one spot in the 16 years in which the list has been annually published, whilst other high-ranking regulars Gentoo, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, Pinsent Masons and the Ministry of Justice in second, third, fourth, and fifth places, respectively.

Yet whilst Newcastle City Council has featured numerous times as an LGBT employer, both Sainsbury’s and Channel 4 made the cut for the first time in 2020 at number 71 and 35, respectively.

Kevin O’Byrne, Chief Financial Officer for Sainsbury’s, and a Board Sponsor for LGBT+ Inclusion, said: “We want Sainsbury’s to be a place where people love to work and shop, so we’re delighted to be the leading retailer in this year’s Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. We’re an inclusive employer and our LGBT+ colleague network has gone from strength to strength. We have also introduced a policy designed to give further support to our Trans colleagues and continue to work with colleagues across our business to identify more opportunities to engage and educate on LGBT+ inclusion.”