Why MI5 heads LGBT Top Employers list

That Stonewall, an organisation set up to shake up the system, should have singled out MI5, an organisation dedicated to safeguarding the system, certainly raised a few eyebrows, but it wasn’t the only news to come from the report.

It also turns out that things are improving in the workplace for members of the LGBT communities in Yorkshire, a region not usually regarded as a bastion of metropolitan liberality.

In last year’s survey, just 18 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents said they felt comfortable being completely ‘out’ in the workplace – only the eighth-highest proportion among the 11 regions and nations of Great Britain.

This year, the figure has risen 24 per cent, hauling Yorkshire up into fifth place (and overtaking Scotland, 
Wales and even the South East along the way).

The man with his finger on the pulse when it comes to LGBT employer engagement in Yorkshire is Stonewall’s account manager for the region, Josh Willacy.

He says: “I think the organisations we work with in Yorkshire and the Humber are doing more to create inclusive environments for their LGBT staff, forming networks, making policies inclusive, and strengthening training which discusses LGBT identities.

“What we’re beginning to see is a real fire in the belly of so many of these organisations. While they know that there is an obvious business case for diversity and inclusion, employers in this region really support the moral case.”

Another factor that may have played a part came last September, when Stonewall held its Workplace Conference in Leeds for the first time. The event, which brought together over 250 delegates to discuss best practice, was supported by EY and attended by many of the region’s – and nation’s – largest employers.

“Events such as this are inspiring employers and employees alike in Yorkshire and the Humber to step up and ‘do their bit’,” says Willacy. “It’s a region typically known for its hard graft, and this is no different in how it approaches equality.”

Even so, there remains much work to be done. Of the seven Yorkshire-based organisations to make it into Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers, there are four universities (Teesside, Sheffield, York St John and Leeds Beckett), a city council (Sheffield) and a third-sector organisation, Touchstone. Only one private-sector company, Asda, made the grade, but it is hoped that it will be the first of many.

“It’s fantastic to see Asda enter the 2016 Index and reach the Top 100 – the only supermarket of the ‘big four’ to appear,” says Willacy.

“Asda has worked extremely hard to positively profile LGBT role models, engage LGBT staff, improve understanding and working practices through training, and worked closer with the community.”

One widely praised initiative was Asda’s ‘Getting to Know’ video series, which profiled a trans employee and the relationship he held with his manager and ally during transition.

The video, described by Willacy as “trailblazing”, was the result of a wide-ranging internal survey carried out by Asda which found that its trans colleagues were the ones who felt the most excluded.

Hayley Parker, diversity and inclusion manager at Asda, says the benefits of the exercise are still being felt.

“When we finished making that video, the people who appeared in it said they didn’t want that to be the end – they wanted it to be the start of something.

“So now we have a group of trans colleagues from all over the country who come together regularly to discuss the issues that affect them.

“It also gives us the chance to keep our ear to the ground and make sure that our plan is happening in the way it was meant to.

“We want to make sure that colleagues could come to work and be treated with respect, without having to hide who they were, or not tell the whole truth about themselves. We want them to feel free to be themselves at work.

“Our mission is to be Britain’s most trusted retailer, but we don’t believe that’s possible unless we are Britain’s most trusted employer. To be that we need all our colleagues to feel comfortable to be who they are.”

Stonewall believes that approach is not just right, but also economically sound. Its 2016 Staff Feedback Survey, which received over 60,000 responses from employees, found that people who feel comfortable to be ‘out’ at work were 77 per cent more likely to be satisfied with their sense of achievement and 65 per cent more likely to be satisfied with their job security.

“When people feel like this, organisations improve their retention rates,” says Willacy. “And when they are seen to be an inclusive employer, they can hire from a larger and more diverse pool of talent.

“Private-sector employers in the region are beginning to wake up to the fact that this isn’t just the right thing to do, but that it also makes business sense.”

Another company Willacy says is leading by example is international 
law firm DWF, which has offices in Leeds.

It comes 56th in Stonewall’s Top 100, and spearheading its commitment to LGBT equality is diversity and community engagement manager Gail Taylor, who last year was named Stonewall’s ‘Straight Ally of the Year’ for Yorkshire and Humber.

She says: “We want to encourage people to feel comfortable and to be themselves; to be the best that they can be. This is something which is said a lot but I truly believe it.

“It is important that people can be themselves at work, as for someone who may be worrying about whether to come out to colleagues or clients, this can be distracting and may also affect the person’s health and well-being.”

The company offers the chance for a friendly chat through its internal network group, OutFront, via its LGBT confidential helpline, or through its Employee Assistance programme – and the feedback has been positive.

In fact, it seems DWF may actually have achieved the Holy Grail of measurable equality. When, as part of the Stonewall index survey, staff were asked whether sexual orientation was a barrier to career progression, gay and straight colleagues turned in an identical score of 73 per cent.

Nevertheless, says Gail Taylor: “We are not complacent and we continue to look for ways to improve. We’re encouraged by these results and continue to work to increase our percentage scores.”

MI5, watch out.