Legal giant Clifford Chance has topped Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2023 list, with engineering services firm Arup and charity Victim Support taking second and third place.
Clifford Chance has repeatedly reached the top 50 of the UK Workplace Equality Index and last year was one of its gold award-listed firms. Stonewall said it had built further on its values around inclusion and support for LGBTQ+ staff and has championed LGBTQ+ equality across the UK.
The purpose of Stonewall’s index is to reward organisations that strive to include LGBTQ+ people and promote equality internally and externally.
Clifford Chance has implemented policies that ensure LGBTQ+ staff are protected and supported, said Stonewall, as well as introduce expansive healthcare benefits that include transition-related treatments and LGBTQ-inclusive mental health support.
The firm sets clear expectations during induction of new staff, and engages senior staff in a reverse mentoring scheme to develop their knowledge with the support of more junior LGBTQ+ staff and its LGBTQ+ employee network group, Arcus.
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Firms from all sectors of the private and public sectors were represented on the Stonewall top employers list for 2023, with retail, construction and engineering producing a stronger showing than in previous years. Retailers included Wickes (at no.11) and Tesco (15); local authorities included Leeds council (70) and Oxford city council (90) and banks such as HSBC (12) and Bank of America (21) produced a strong showing. But the UK’s largest retail bank, Lloyds, was missing from the listing, as were supermarket giants Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Aldi.
Engineering giants BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Jacobs were well placed on the index.
Overall, private sector organisations made up 57% of firms in the top 100, followed by the public sector (37%) and the third/voluntary sector (8%). Financial services were the most represented in this year’s list (21%), followed by education (16%), health and social care (12%) and the legal sector (11%).
Arup had never before featured in the top 100 firms. It’s rise to no.2 was down to the success of its allies programme, which encourages all staff to expand their learning and join colleagues who actively promote inclusion across the organisation.
Arup’s active LGBTQ+ network group, Connect Out, provides support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ staff, with a particular focus on supporting their bi, pan, trans and non-binary members. Promoting equality across the wider sector, Arup shares training, advice and events with clients, partners and suppliers and provides extensive support to LGBTQ+ community groups.
Victim Support has been the best performing voluntary sector organisation on the Stonewall top employers list for several years, including in 2023, because of its determination to ensure policies and practices meet the needs of LGBTQ+ staff – whether that’s communicating clear protections against discrimination, LGBTQ+ inclusive family-related leave, or ensuring that mental health support is LGBTQ+ inclusive.
The charity has also embedded inclusion in key processes such as recruitment, sharing information about their commitment with prospective staff and developing an inclusive recruitment toolkit for recruiting managers. Data from monitoring exercises is regularly analysed to understand how initiatives like this are impacting staff representation, engagement and satisfaction.
Liz Ward, director of programmes at Stonewall, it was important for firms to create “environments where we can all feel comfortable”. Such environments spark creativity because “different viewpoints and life experiences are heard”, she added.
Deon Fang, associate at Clifford Chance, reflected on the firm’s achievement: “People from every part of Clifford Chance have worked together for years to affirm LGBTQ+ colleagues, build LGBTQ+ community and protect LGBTQ+ rights in the world. It is particularly meaningful to receive this recognition for the year we celebrated 15 years of our LGBTQ+ network Arcus.”
The Top 100 Employers List is compiled through submissions to a free, voluntary benchmarking tool, the Workplace Equality Index. All submissions are then marked against thorough and standardised criteria and the Top 100 Employers are picked out for their work in making their workplace a welcoming environment for their LGBTQ+ staff.
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