Pride takes place this Saturday 2nd July. It’s the UK’s biggest, most diverse Pride and as it celebrates 50 years, Pride in London’s 2022 parade has topped a list of global Pride celebrations this year too. Attracting around 1.5m people into the city, the event has support from huge household names as its sponsors and partners.
Pride is hugely important not only as a celebration of the LGTBQ+ community, but it is key to remember that its origins were as a protest and a show of solidarity. For many LGTBQ+ people, there can sometimes be a disconnect between the brands and businesses they see proudly supporting Pride, and the experiences they have within those workplaces.
A recent piece of research conducted by company review website Glassdoor in the US between April 2021 and April 2022, uncovered that LGBTQ+ employees rate their companies 3.62 out of 5 on average, which is 6 per cent lower than non-LGBTQ+ employees. Transgender employees fare even more poorly, rating their employee experience 3.43 out of 5, or 10.9 per cent than non-LGBTQ+ employees.
In the UK, Stonewall, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity, creates an annual Top 100 Employers list, compiled from the Workplace Equality Index – the UK’s leading benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace. This year, 403 employers across the public, private and third sectors, completed the Workplace Equality Index to help them to measure and improve their inclusion practice. Additionally, 79,040 employees responded to a questionnaire from Stonewall.
Employers as different as MI6, Tesco, Cardiff University, Rolls-Royce and Unilever all made the list, and we’re highlighting five more companies below, all of which have open roles right now. For plenty more career opportunities, check out The London Economic Job Board.
Number 1 on the Top 100 Employers 2022 list, Macquarie Group Limited is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia, it employs more than 17,000 staff across 33 markets, and is the world’s largest infrastructure asset manager. Macquarie says, “We promote a diverse and inclusive environment for our LGBTQ+ people and clients, where everyone is encouraged to bring their whole self to work and be an ally. We do this through inclusive policies, ongoing education, awareness and community engagement.”
Discover open roles at Macquarie Group.
One of “The Big Four”, KPMG is one of the world’s biggest and best-known professional services firms. Its network extends across 145 countries, it has over 236,000 employees and has three lines of services: financial audit, tax, and advisory. KPMG came 17th on Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list. It says it is “committed to having 6 per cent Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual firm-wide representation by 2030.”
Discover career opportunities at KPMG.
A global multinational law practice, it is one of the 50 largest law practices in the world and has more than 4,000 employees working across the areas of general and commercial practice. Eversheds Sutherland came in at number 18 on this year’s list. It has an employee support group called Perspective for its LGBT+ and supporters. “Perspective is here to encourage all employees and partners at Eversheds Sutherland to be their true selves at work, building a more unified, cohesive and supportive employee body.”
Open roles at Eversheds Sutherland can be found here.
The UK’s biggest insurance company, Aviva offers car, home, travel, life and health cover. Oh, and also savings, investments, pension and retirement options. When it comes to its LGBTQ+ teams, it says “We work closely with Stonewall to ensure our policies, practices and culture support our LGBT+ community.” This year, Aviva came at number 27 on the list of Top 100 Employers.
More information on jobs at Aviva can be found here.
Tied for 40th place with three other companies, Vodafone is one of the UK’s best-known mobile and broadband companies. To support its employees, it has a Vodafone LGBT+ Friends Network, which is used to connects and support staff on on lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT+) matters. “Our efforts don’t stop at the office,” the company says. “We’re proactively supporting local schools, charities and initiatives across the UK. We want to help future LGBT+ employees navigate the world of work and feel confident to be themselves.”
Discover open roles at Vodafone.
