Council shoots up Stonewall equality rankings

The Council - which prides itself on respecting the employment rights of all its employees - is now ranked the country's 35th best employer in Stonewall's annual Workplace Equality index.

In the results announced yesterday (Thu 13th January), the Council came 35th of 378 organisations which entered this year's index.

This represents fantastic progress on last year when the authority was ranked 63rd of 352 entries and 2009 when it came 133rd out of 317.

To achieve the ranking the Council had to submit a detailed self-assessment backed up by evidence.

Employees were also invited to complete a questionnaire and respond directly to Stonewall about their experiences in working for the organisation.

Council Leader Councillor Nigel Holdcroft said: "I am delighted that the Council is continuing to make strong progress in its drive to ensure every member of its workforce has equal rights.

"Having broken into the top 100 of the index last year it is very encouraging to see we are now in the top 40, particularly as more and more organisations are taking part annually.

"This represents another significant step forward for the equality work which is being carried out within the Council."

Stonewall is the UK 's leading organisation in campaigning for equality and justice in employment.

It measures a wide range of criteria covering policy and practice including non-discrimination policies and employee networking groups.

The Equality Index is an important tool as it supports the Council's vision of 'creating a Better Southend' by placing equality and diversity at the heart of everything it does.