Stonewall ranks UoM as the 20th best LGBT Employer

The University of Manchester is ranked as Stonewall’s joint-twentieth best employer for LGBT inclusion, in the 2019 Stonewall 100.

Manchester Metropolitan University boasted a similarly impressive record, placing 22nd.

The University of Manchester is the highest ranked university in England. It is also the second highest in the UK, after Cardiff University, which placed 11th in the 2019 list.

The charity produces an annual list of employers that have strove to achieve “acceptance without exception”.

Over 92,000 UK employees responded to the survey, helping to create the Index.

Pinsent Masons, an international law firm, placed first this year, with other high ranking organisations including the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, MI5, and the Welsh national assembly.

Stonewall’s executive director, Darren Towers, praised LGBT inclusive employers, singling out Pinsent Masons for price.

“We know that people perform better when they can be themselves. They are more productive, creative and overall, morale is better.

“This is the kind of workforce employers should want and it happens when people are in a workplace where they feel supported and included.”

Universities also made a strong impression, with 15 institutions included on the list.

”To now see higher education institutions dominating the top 100 for the first time shows not just how far we’ve come, but also sends a really positive message for the future”, said Towers.

Despite this, Stonewall’s ‘LGBT in Britain – University Report’, published last April found an interesting distinction between official university policy and casual discrimination.

Although two-thirds of LGBT students reported that their universities had equality policies that protected LGBT people on campus, around 42% disclosed that they had hidden their identity for fear of discrimination.

While work continues to counter casual prejudice against the LGBT community on campuses across the UK, management across universities can be praised for attacking discrimination with official policy lines.

A year ago this month, it was revealed that The University of Manchester had been named a top ten trans employer by Stonewall.

It is expected that there will be a range of events on campus during LGBT History Month in February. The grassroots initiative aims to celebrate the past of the LGBT movement, with an official festival.