Stonewall launches Global Diversity Champions Programme

Stonewall today launches its Global Diversity Champions Programme, a best practice forum for organisations that employ people around the world.

The programme will work with international companies to ensure that their lesbian, gay and bisexual staff, regardless of which country they operate in, can perform.

It is currently illegal to be gay in 78 countries and only 59 countries protect gay people from discrimination in employment based upon their sexual orientation. This presents a unique challenge for global organisations committed to treating their gay staff fairly and building a workplace where all staff feel able to perform at their best.

The programme will allow members to share ‘in country’ best practice as well as offering an array of benefits including an exclusive seminar programme and dedicated resources on global workplace topics.

Supported by diversity software specialists Gender Gap, the new programme brings together the expertise of ten major founding partners: Barclays, BP, Citi, Freshfields, Google, IBM, P&G, RBS, Simmons & Simmons and Thomson Reuters and will build on the tried and tested model of good practice sharing and benchmarking to accelerate improvements.

Stonewall Deputy Chief Executive Laura Doughty said: ‘We know that people perform better when they can be themselves. For gay staff in countries where they don’t enjoy equality this can be incredibly difficult and brings a unique set of challenges. Stonewall’s Global Diversity Champions Programme will help international organisations respond effectively to these challenges and help them create workplaces where everyone can perform to their full potential – regardless of their sexual orientation or where they are in the world – as well as supporting gay people ‘in country’.’

Sam Jones, Gender Gap Founder and CEO said: ‘Diversity has always been a global opportunity. Embracing diversity in every one of your offices maximises the positive impact on business performance. As a global software company focused on diversity, we’re delighted to support Stonewall on this programme.’

For more information on Stonewall’s Global Diversity Champions programme visit: www.stonewall.org.uk/globaldc