Stonewall, Europe’s leading lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality charity, today announced its Top Global Employers for 2019.
As part of its work to push LGBT equality forward internationally, Stonewall works with organisations across the world to help them make their workplaces more LGBT inclusive. Now in its eighth year, the Global Workplace Equality Index (GWEI) has recognised 14 global companies. The companies on this list represent those who have gone above and beyond to push for LGBT equality within their organisations and outside of them.
The 14 organisations named as 2019’s Top Global Employers will be celebrated this evening at a ceremony in London, supported by Herbert Smith Freehills. Four of the companies will also receive awards specifically recognising their work in trans inclusion, network groups, ally programmes, community engagement and the award for senior leadership.
The Top Global Employers for 2019 in alphabetical order are: Accenture, Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Barclays, BP.plc, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, GlaxoSmithKline, Herbert Smith Freehills, HSBC, Pinsent Masons, RBS, SAP, Simmons & Simmons and Vodafone.
Accenture received the Global Trans Inclusion Award, for their transitioning at work policy which supports their trans staff, wherever they are working. They were also awarded the Global Network Group Award for their work in consulting their network on many of the internal changes to push forward LGBT inclusion.
Vodafone received the Global Ally Programme Award for their ally programme, which is over 2,000 people big, and spans 20 countries. Their programme includes initiatives like online learning modules, and an LGBT buddy system.
Herbert Smith Freehills collected the Global Community Engagement Award for their work to further LGBT equality through working with global and local LGBT groups, including working to de-criminalise same-sex relationships with the Human Dignity Trust.
Georgia Dawson, Asia managing partner of law firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, was given the accolade of Global Senior Champion Award for her efforts within her firm, and beyond. Georgia has established partnerships with other professional LGBT networks across the region, worked closely with a range of local organisations and supported pro bono projects to fight for LGBT rights.
The attendees will hear from four speakers throughout the night: Dann Bross from the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality, Glenroy Muray from J-FLAG, John Whiteoak, a partner of Herbert Smith Freehills, and Ruth Hunt, Stonewall CEO.
Stonewall’s Top Global Employers list celebrates the pioneering efforts of leading organisations to create inclusive workplaces and advance equality for LGBT people wherever they are in the world. It’s compiled from submissions to the Global Workplace Equality Index: a powerful benchmarking tool used by employers to create inclusive workplaces across the international markets in which they operate.
Ruth Hunt, Chief Executive of Stonewall said: “In recent years, there’s been great progress in lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) rights in many countries throughout the world. Yet despite this, the fight is far from over. There’s been a row back on the few protections LGBT people have and some countries are becoming increasingly repressive, with LGBT people facing widespread discrimination, violence and persecution. Multinational employers have a vital role to play in changing this.
“Every year, we celebrate the successes of those employers who have made a demonstrable impact towards LGBT inclusion. Those featured in our 2019 report have used innovative policies and initiatives to create change. They’ve also engaged with LGBT equality on both a local and global level. We are proud to highlight the great work they’ve done and we want other organisations to be inspired and take their lead.”
