Stonewall top 100 employers 2019: Pinsent Masons and MI5 among 'best LGBT-inclusive companies'

MI5, a law firm and a fire rescue service are among the top 100 LGBT employers in the UK, according to Stonewall.

Law firm Pinsent Masons topped the list for its inclusive policies and attitudes towards transgender staff, the LGBT charity announced.

Darren Towers, Stonewall’s executive director, praised the law firm for “championing lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality in the workplace”.

He added: “They know that helping staff feel they can bring their full selves to work doesn’t just make a huge difference to individual team members – it makes real business sense too.”

The University of Sheffield and the Ministry of Justice also made the list.

Chesire Fire and Rescue Service, who have now made the list four years in a row, was recognised for its work within the LGBT community.

Mark Shone, who works in community safety, told the BBC: “There are a lot of risk factors, particularly among older LGBT people that in theory put them more at risk of fire.

“They’re lot more likely to live alone, perhaps have mental health issues, more likely to be affected by substance misuse and they’re all factors that make you at risk of fire.

“We’ve done a lot of work trying to map where those people are engage them in community safety."

The top list of trans employers included law firms Baker McKenzie and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.

Alongside the top 100 list, Stonewall also announced their role models of the year.

Jacqueline Quinn, senior learning experience manager at Sky UK, was named Lesbian Role Model of the Year and Ray Vincent, associate Chaplain at the University of South Wales, was named Gay Role Model of the Year..

Hafsa Qureshi, who works for the Ministry of Justice, was named Bi Role Model of the year for working to dismantle stereotypes and encouraging diverse LGBT+ role models.

Hannah Graf, the highest ranking trans person in the British Army, was named Trans Role Model of the Year for changing the army’s approach to gender identity.

The top 100 list follows a 2018 survey by Stonewall which found that more than a third of LGBT staff had hidden they were LGBT at work, fearing they would be discriminated against.

Mr Towers said: “Stonewall was set up 30 years ago to fight against the introduction of Section 28 – a vicious piece of legislation that banned local authorities from ‘promoting homosexuality.’

“To now see higher education institutions dominating the top 100 for the first time shows not just how far we’ve come but also sends a really positive message for the future.”

Stonewall's Top 100 Employers 2019

1. Pinsent Masons

2. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

3. Chesire Fire and Rescue Service

4. MI5

= 5 National Assembly for Wales

= 5 Newcastle City Council

7. Lloyds Banking Group

8. Welsh Government

9. Citi

10. Baker McKenzie

11. Cardiff University

12. Ministry of Justice

= 13 Environment Agency

= 13 Intellectual Property Office

= 15 Dentons UKMEA LLP

= 15 Royal Navy and Royal Marines

17. Home Group

= 18 Chesire Constabulary

= 18 Skills Development Scotland

= 20 The University of Manchester

= 20 Touchstone

22 Manchester Metropolitan University

23 The University of Sheffield

24 GSK

25 Travers Smith

26 Riversdie

27 Victim Support

= 28 Barclays PLC

= 28 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

= 30 Nottinghamshire County Council

31 De Montfort University

= 32 Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

= 32 Vodafone

= 34 Fujitsu

= 34 Hogan Lovells International LLP

36. Lancashire Constabulary

= 37 Allen & Overy

= 37 Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

= 37 Clifford Chance

= 37 Golden Jubilee Foundation

= 37 Taylor Wessing

42. St Mungo's

43. University of South Wales

= 44 Moody's

= 44 Nottingham City Homes

46. Bury Council

= 47 Swansea University

= 47 Teesside University

= 47 Virgin Money

50. Bank of America Merrill Lynch

= 51 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

= 51 KPMG UK

= 51 Linklaters LLP

= 51 The British Army

55 Tate

= 56 Department for Education;

= 56 Newham College London

58. North East Ambulance Service Foundation Trust

59. DWF

60. Capgemini UK

61. Sheffield City Council

62. Leicestershire City Council

63. Sky UK

= 64. Credit Suisse

= 64 JLL

66. Eversheds Sutherland LLP

67. Joseph Rowntree Foundation/Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust

68. Royal Air Force

69. Financial Conduct Authority

70. Slaughter and May

71. Olivia Wyman

= 72 Leeds City Council

= 72 Scottish Government

= 72 University of Brighton

= 72 University of Leicester

76. Sunderland City Council

= 77 Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

= 77 Your Homes Newcastle

79. Aberystwyth University

80. University of Reading

= 81. City of Glasgow College

= 81 Sussex Police

83. Trowers & Hamlins LLP

= 84 Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

= 84 University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

= 86 MI6

= 86 Northumberland County Council

= 88 Change Grow Live

= 88 NHS Business Services Authority

= 88 Northumbria Police

91. ThoughtWorks

92. London School of Economics and Political Science

= 93 University of Essex

= 93 University of Oxford

= 95 Cardiff Metropolitan University

= 95 Lloyd's

= 95 Nottingham City Council

98. Gowling WLG UK LLP

99. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service

100. National Crime Agency