Newcastle leads Stonewall’s top LGBT-inclusive employer list

Newcastle City Council has been revealed to be the most inclusive employer in the UK by lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality charity Stonewall.

The council, who came fifth in the Top 100 Employers list last year, has now become the first local authority to ever reach the pole position since Stonewall started its annual ranking back 16 years ago, and remains the highest-ranking local authority for the last three years.

The charity recognised the numerous events that Newcastle City Council ran over the year, including their ‘7 days of Pride’ campaign, supporting and highlighting the LGBT community in the run up to Newcastle Pride.

Joyce McCarty, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “I’m incredibly proud that our commitment to inclusivity has been recognised with this accolade, and it is a fantastic achievement for us to be the first local authority to be named as Stonewall’s Employer of the Year. But 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. Newcastle is a safe and welcoming city and the North East in general does a great deal to champion the LGBT community. We are all eagerly anticipating the fantastic opportunity to demonstrate this by being the host city for UK Pride 2020.

“It is part of the core values of Newcastle City Council that we are all equal and I would like to thank all our amazing staff for putting these beliefs into practice and creating an outstanding workplace where everybody feels comfortable to be who they are.”

For the second year running, education organisations have come top of the class in this year’s Top 100, with 16 making the list, closely followed by the legal sector, with 15 organisations on the list.

Research by Stonewall demonstrates that 35 per cent of LGBT people looking for work are worried about being discriminated against or harassed because of who they are. Meanwhile, 18 per cent have been the target of negative comments from colleagues.