MI5 a top LGB employer

The consultancy firm Ernst & Young has been named best employer according to equality charity Stonewall’s 2012 index of top 100 employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff. In second place is the Home Office, while Barclays bank comes third. Another consultancy firm, Accenture, won the award for Employee Network Group of the Year and the Department of Energy and Climate Change is named Most Improved Employer.

Bill Payne, former chief executive of Metropolitan Housing Partnership, was named Individual Champion of the Year.

National security service MI5 secured a position in the Top 100 for the first time, and is one of 25 new entries. Jonathan Evans, director general of MI5, said: “The Security Service has worked hard in recent years to promote equality and diversity across all areas of its work. We are pleased to be recognised by Stonewall, but there is still more we can do.

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall chief executive, said that competition for a place in the Top 100 was fiercer than ever this year and that every employer securing a position in the Top 100 has performed impressively. “The participating employers collectively employ over 1.9 million people,” he said. “The Index remains a powerful tool used by Britain’s 1.7 million gay employees and 150,000 gay university students to decide where to take their talent and skills.”