RFL make top 100 employers list
The RFL has become the first sporting organisation ever to enter the Stonewall Top 100 Employers Index, after they were named 93rd at Stonewall’s annual awards dinner on Wednesday.
The Stonewall Workplace Index is the definitive national benchmarking exercise showcasing Britain’s top employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) staff. The Index covers nine areas of policy and practice and ranks organisations against a range of criteria.
The RFL entered the Stonewall Index, which consists of almost 400 organisations, for the first time in 2010, with a ranking of 169. In only their second year in the Index, the RFL has climbed 76 places to become the first sports organisation ever to be featured in the Top 100.
“To be named in the Top 100 organisations in the country is a fantastic achievement for us,” said Sarah Williams, the RFL’s Equality and Diversity Manager.
“It is great to see the RFL receiving public recognition for all the hard work and effort that has gone into our policy implementation in the past few years. To have jumped almost 80 places on the Index is an outstanding result.
“We’re up there with huge corporations such as ITV and for a relatively small, public company such as the RFL to be mentioned in the same vein is a huge boost for us all.
“We are determined to continue the improvements we have made and to continue rising up the Stonewall Index in the coming years.”
With Crusaders RL and Wales RL player Gareth Thomas winning the Stonewall Hero of The Year award in 2010, this latest success has continued to emphasise the RFL’s position as one of British sports most forward thinking governing bodies.
RFL Chairman Richard Lewis commented: “The RFL is committed to becoming one of the most equitable employers in the country and to be named in the Top 100 is a huge step in the right direction for us
“For us to be the first sporting organisation to enter the Top 100 is something everyone involved with the RFL should be proud of.
“The challenge for us now is not to rest on our laurels but to keep developing our entire equality and diversity programmes and continue the impressive progress we have made in recent years.”
