Stonewall names 5 consulting firms top LGBT employer

22 January 2016 Consultancy.uk

Business advisory firms Accenture, EY, IBM, KPMG and PwC have been recognised as top LGBT employer by lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity Stonewall for providing equality on the work floor and support for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees. Accenture, EY and IBM have been named a Star Performer, while KPMG and PwC are listed in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list.

Established in 1989, Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the UK, founded by a group of women and men who actively demonstrated against Section 28 of the Local Government Act*. The movement has since grown into one of UK's leading organisations furthering lesbian, gay, bisexual & transsexual (LGBT) equality in the workplace. 

Stonewall

Workplace Equality Index
To recognises employers that demonstrate strong commitment to advancing LGBT equality, Stonewall every year conducts research in company performance, and highlights best performers in its so-called ' Workplace Equality Index' (WEI). Organisations are judged in 10 distinct areas of employment policy and practice, including networking groups, career development, training and community engagement.

This year, over 400 organisations took part in the WEI, the highest number since in its 12-year history, of which 100 made the Stonewall Top 100 Employers list, including consultancies PwC and KPMG. In addition to its top 100 list, Stonewall launched a ‘Star Performers’ network, bringing together top-performing organisations who have consistently demonstrated exemplary practice to support lesbian, gay and bisexual staff.

Stonewall names 5 consulting firms top LGBT employer

Star Performers
Organisations that are named a Star Performer have ranked in the Top 10 of the WEI at least three times in the last five years, as a result of which they are graduated to Star Performer status. According to Stonewall, Start Performers have ‘taken workplace equality to the next level’. The selected organisations will work with Stonewall on pioneering initiatives and lead the development of best workplace practice in the UK and around the world. They will mentor other organisations and help them develop strategies to transform workplace cultures across the countries.

Among the nine Star Performers are three players active in the consulting industry: management and technology consulting firm Accenture, business advisory EY, and IT giant IBM.

* Section 28 of the Local Government Act was a legislation designed to prevent the so-called ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools.