For the fourth year running the London Fire Brigade has been placed as the UK’s top gay friendly fire and rescue service in Stonewalls’ ‘Workplace Equality Index 2009'.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: “I am delighted that we start 2009 once again as the top gay friendly UK fire service. We know that the more diverse our organisation is, the better we’ll serve Londoners and hope these successful results will show many more of London’s gay, lesbian or bisexual residents that London Fire Brigade is a workplace that will suit them.”
Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Councillor Brian Coleman said: “I look forward to the day when all fire authorities are as good as London. As the first openly gay Chairman of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, I am determined we get the message over that being gay in the fire brigade is the same as being gay in any other profession.”
Notes for editors
Stonewall’s report celebrates the top 100 employers in Britain for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people. Alongside London Fire Brigade, other top employers include blue chip FTSE 100 companies, government departments and other local authorities. There were a record number of applicants this year making it the toughest equality index ever.
Stonewall looks at how well employers engage with LGB staff, customers and service users and alongside gay friendly policies, also collects evidence of actual practice like recruitment and mentoring. As one of the UK’s top 25 gay friendly employers, London Fire Brigade was also visited to allow our results to be verified independently.
London Fire Brigade’s consistent performance is a result of the Brigade’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group offering support for staff and raising the profile of the Brigade at events and festivals, and the continued emphasis on improving services to the LGBT community. London Fire Brigade is also a visible presence at Pride celebrations every summer, marching alongside other emergency services and holding a reception at Soho fire station.
