Newcastle City Council has been named as the UK’s top LGBT employer, by the charity Stonewall.
The council is the first ever local authority to claim the number one spot since Stonewall started its annual ranking back sixteen years ago.
Newcastle City Council, who came fifth in the 2019 list and has been the highest-ranking local authoroty for the last three years, claimed the top spot this year for their commitment to equality. LGBT inclusion is embedded across all areas of their work, from employee HR policies to recruitment processes and all internal communications.
Newcastle City Council ran numerous events over the year, including their ‘7 days of Pride’ campaign, supporting and highlighting the LGBT community in the run up to Newcastle Pride. They also put on events to mark other visibility days such as Bi Visibility Day, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) and Trans Day of Remembrance.
Also featured on the Top 100 Employers 2020 list are the University of Essex, KPMG, Aviva, Sainsbury’s, The British Army, MI6, Royal Air Force, House of Commons, Leicestershire City Council, Channel 4 and many more.
You can view the full list here.
Speaking about the accolade, Councillor 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.”
