Newcastle Council ranks #1 on list of best LGBT employers

Lilla Marshall reports on Newcastle City Council's latest achievement

Lilla Marshall
16th February 2020
Image: wikipedia
The Newcastle City Council has become the first ever local authority to be awarded the #1 spot on Stonewall's list of the top 100 LGBT employers.

The accolade comes after years of climbing up the rankings, and being the highest ranking local authority for three years - featuring at #5 in 2019, #9 in 2018 and #38 in 2017.

A report in September 2019 reported that 31% of LGBT employees have felt uncomfortable at work and 24% have said they have experienced bullying. Non-binary individuals were also shown to be the gender identity with the greatest risk of anxiety in the workplace (40%).

Stonewall have described the achievement by saying, "Newcastle City Council, have worked to ensure that their practices are LGBT inclusive for all staff, at all stages of their employment."

"They’ve also utilised LGBT community events, such as Prides, to reach out to LGBT talent and encourage them to apply for roles within the council."

Upon being told of the accolade, councillor and deputy leader of the Newcastle City Council Joyce McCarty said, "This is really an award for everybody in our city who shows us every day that we are all equal and that our great city accepts everyone."

The council ran many events throughout the year, which played a role in boosting their ranking. These events included the marking of Bi Visibility Day and the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. A candle lit vigil took place outside of the civic centre as part of Transgender Remembrance Day.

Sanjay Sood-Smith, the executive director for Stonewall has described the importance of the list, "We spend most of our lives at work, so getting workplace inclusion right makes a huge difference in the lives of so many LGBT people."

"Every year, our list of the Top 100 employers show us who’s leading the way when it comes to creating a work environment where LGBT people can thrive and be themselves in the UK. "

Newcastle City Council, also, appeared on the unordered list of the top trans employers from Stonewall. It featured alongside Bury Council, Cardiff University and the Welsh Government.

14 universities featured on the list of 100 top LGBT employees, but Newcastle University was not one of them. Cardiff University and the University of Sheffield were the best ranking universities at #10 and #11, respectively.

You can read the full list of 100 here.

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