Royal Air Force - News & Updates

The Royal Air Force has attained prestigious recognition by renowned charity Stonewall as a ‘Top 100’ employer for lesbian, gay men and bisexual (LGB) people in Britain. The launch was celebrated in London, on the evening of Wednesday 11th January 2012. Air Member for Personnel, Air Marshal Andy Pulford said:

‘The RAF has participated in Stonewall’s Employer Benchmarking Scheme since 2007 and has consistently improved its rating year-on-year, which is extremely encouraging, particularly as the number of participants and depth of submissions over this timeframe has increased significantly. Elevation into the ‘Top 100’ during 2011 was in itself a significant milestone, so I am especially pleased that we have now achieved 56th position during 2012. I am extremely grateful to Stonewall for their continued support, and I look forward to sustaining this progress into the future.’

Stonewall’s benchmarking process, called Workplace Equality Index (WEI) runs each year and is an extremely rigorous evaluation of organisations’ LGB policies, personnel engagement processes and supporting networks. Chief of Staff Personnel Air Vice Marshal Matt Wiles who attended the event said:

‘Attaining 56th position and our elevated status within the esteemed Stonewall WEI ‘Top 100’ demonstrates that the RAF is fully committed to improving the ‘lived experience’ of our LGB community.’ This is a major accolade of which we should be very proud.’

Stonewall’s benchmarking process places emphasis upon strong leadership, good communication and an organisation’s ability to understand the specific needs of its LGB personnel. Critically the process is evidence based, proving that current policy delivers. Assistant Chief Of Staff Personnel Policy, Air Commodore Nigel Beet commented:

‘Following last year’s notable achievement of induction into Stonewall’s ‘Top 100’ Employers Index, the RAF is delighted to have advanced further within the WEI. This significant accolade demonstrates our continued commitment to diversity in general and to our LGBT community in particular. The result reflects extensive collaborative working between the RAF LGBT Forum, the RAF Inspectorate of Recruiting and the RAF E&D team. In sum, this is a magnificent team effort. I am also grateful to the Workplace Employer Team at Stonewall for both supporting and encouraging the RAF’s continued improvement, which we need to sustain in the future.’

Wing Commander Mark Abrahams MBE, works closely with the RAF E&D team and is Chair of the RAF LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Forum which acts as a conduit between E&D policy staff and the wider serving community. The RAF LGBT Forum, also contributes to the Proud2Serve website, assists on numerous policy initiatives, and was integral to the organisation of military participation in the PRIDE London March last year:

‘London 2011 was the 2nd PRIDE event I have participated in and I was proud to wear my uniform at such a key public event in the LGBT community calendar, and at such a public event which clearly underlined the commitment of the RAF to its LGBT personnel. I am absolutely delighted the RAF has made it into the ‘Top 100’ employers once again and that reaching 56th position has been achieved in such an impressive manner. It is clear evidence of the close working relationship between the RAF E&D team and the RAF LGBT Forum and their combined efforts over a number of years to ensure that the RAF is justifiably recognised as an equal opportunities employer of choice.’

Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of Stonewall had the following to say:

‘Congratulations to the Royal Air Force for securing the 56th position on the 2012 Stonewall Top 100 Employers list. Competition for a place in the Top 100 was fiercer than ever this year. With new, more demanding criteria, every employer securing a position in the Top 100 has performed impressively – and the participating employers collectively employ over 1.9 million people. 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.’