House of Commons placed 116 out of 400 in Equality index
20 January 2016 (updated on 20 January 2016)
The House of Commons has received its result in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index for 2016, and we are delighted to announce that we have risen 10 places to rank 116th out of 400 participating employers.
The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) is an effective way to measure efforts to tackle discrimination and create an inclusive workplace for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees. Since 2005, more than 800 major employers have taken part in the Index using Stonewall's criteria as a model for good practice.
This year saw over 400 organisations take part, the highest number in its 12-year history. Each participant must demonstrate their expertise in 10 distinct areas of employment policy and practice, including networking groups, career development, training and community engagement. Stonewall revises the Index criteria every three years. There were quite substantial changes to the criteria this year so this is even more reason to recognise our achievement in moving up 10 places.
Mr Speaker's comments
The Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP said:
“As a passionate champion of equality, I am pleased that the House of Commons has risen yet again in Stonewall’s index. We are committed to being an inclusive organisation, and our participation in the index is part of this commitment. With the continued support of managers at all levels of the organisation, I am determined that we will achieve even more next year.”
Staff of the House of Commons and the Digital Service are thanked for completing the anonymous survey, as well as for their contribution to making parliament a more inclusive employer and service provider. We still have more work to do but this demonstrates that we are continuing to move in the right direction.