South: EY leads the way on workplace equality

EY has been named as one of Stonewall’s Star Performers, recognised for consistently being ranked as a leading gay-friendly workplace in the annual Workplace Equality Index of top 100 public and private sector companies.

The professional services firm is one of eight organisations and the only one of the Big Four to be given this special recognition for leading workplace equality in its industry. The Star Performers – named as EY, Accenture, Barclays, Gentoo, Goldman Sachs, Home Office, IBM and Simmons & Simmons – will work with Stonewall on pioneering initiatives to define best practice and pave the way for other organisations to follow.

EY was named as one of UK’s leading gay-friendly employers earlier this year, ranking fifth place in Stonewall’s 2014 Workplace Equality Index and achieving third place in Stonewall’s listing of global employers, scooping a Star Performer Network Group award for its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allies network, Unity.

Commenting on the firm’s recognition, Liz Bingham, EY’s managing partner for talent in the UK & Ireland, said: “We’re extremely proud to be named one of Stonewall’s Star Performers and recognised for revolutionising our approach to workplace equality. EY’s Unity network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their allies has had a big part to play in this success and in our ongoing leadership in the field of workplace equality.

“At EY, we believe diversity and inclusiveness is something all businesses should value and strive for. Diverse teams make better business decisions, which is why we’re investing in our employee networks and talent programmes to create an environment where everyone can succeed regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.”