Royal Navy - News & Updates

The Naval Service (NS) has been ranked 77 in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers 2012. Stonewall is a UK charity that campaigns and lobbies on behalf of lesbian, gay and bisexual men and women. Their Diversity Champion programme offers advice and support to over 600 organisations including IBM, Barclays, Barnardos, the Home Office and the Naval Service.

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive, said: ‘Congratulations to the Royal Navy for securing the 77th 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.’

Taking part in the WEI demonstrates to both the LGBT and wider communities that they will be treated fairly by maintaining commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and ensures that the NS is in a position to attract and retain the best people. Opportunities to benchmark and network with other public and private sector organisations assist the NS in developing and sharing best practice.

The NS has been a Diversity Champion since 2005 and has participated in the Workplace Equality Index (WEI) since 2006. The WEI is the definitive national benchmarking exercise showcasing Britain’s top employers for gay staff. Of the 600 Stonewall Diversity Champions, 363 took part in the 2012 WEI.

The NS was placed 112 in the 2011 WEI and the improvement in the rankings for 2012 is considered to be due to the implementation of effective diversity strategies that included sexual orientation and visible commitment from top management; in 2011 Second Sea Lord participated in the Stonewall ‘Straight Allies’ research which studied the role that straight people play in creating gay-friendly workplaces.

A reception is to be held at Ernst & Young offices in London on the evening of 11 Jan 12 where 170 guests, who are employees of the companies and organisations featured in the Top 100, will meet to celebrate their success. Commodore Rupert Wallace (NS LGBT Diversity Advocate), Lt Cdr Toby Evison (Equality and Diversity Policy Staff) and Writer Tom Harding (NS LGBT Forum member) will attend on behalf of the NS.

Commodore Rupert Wallace, Naval Assistant and the NS LGBT Diversity Champion said, ‘"We in the Naval Service are delighted to be placed in the Stonewall Top 100 employers list for 2012. It shows a strong and clear message to the UK population, and especially the LGB community, that the Navy is an inclusive employer and that we are committed to embracing diversity and inclusion amongst our workforce."