The University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust placed 84th in Stonewall’s Top 100 LGBT+ employers for 2019, following the recent release of the list, and officials want to improve on this position.
The trust was one of many organisations commended by Stonewall for their “great work over the past year to help achieve acceptance without exception for all LGBT people.”
The Stonewall Top 100 Employers are the best performing employers on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2019, an annual audit of workplace culture for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans staff.
Around 445 organisations entered into the 2019 index, and only five NHS organisations made the Top 100.
The UHB Trust is one of Birmingham’s highest ranked LGBT+ inclusive organisations for 2019, and many of its members have expressed pride at the accolade, whilst suggesting they will continue the work they’ve done to advance further up the list.
In a statement, Chair of UHB, Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith, said:
“In the past year, UHB has expanded its staff networks, embedded policies to support our trans colleagues and patients, marked and celebrated the achievements of the LGBT community, and demonstrated pledges to highlight and tackle the profound inequalities and challenges the community still faces.
“UHB will further this vital work in the coming years and will continue to engage with – and listen closely to – all voices across our workforce and our LGBT community.”
Anthony Cobley, Head of Inclusion, Health and Wellbeing at UHB, said:
“Breaking into the top 100 employers is a real testament to the work being done by colleagues across the Trust to change and improve the culture for not just LGBT staff, but everyone.
“That hard work has paid off, particularly if we take into account that UHB ranked 336th only two and a half years ago.”
Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Sally Lawson, expressed ambition at earning a higher ranking in the index next year, and suggested the Trust is hard at work already to achieve these goals:
“We are busy making plans for another packed year of activities and inclusion initiatives so maybe next time we may even reach the top 10!”
The UHB Trust will continue to collaborate with LGBT+ organisations and communities in Birmingham this year in a bid to improve on their 84th place position in Stonewall’s 2020 index.