The Ministry of Defence has been given the Public Sector Equality award from PinkNews this week, in recognition of its support of LGBT employees and progress made around diversity.
The third annual PinkNews Awards took place at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on October 21 and the MOD was named the public sector employer for the year. The awards recognise the contributions made by politicians, community activists, media personalities and business leaders in advancing the rights of LGBT people in the UK and overseas.
The MOD was up against GCHQ, the Crown Prosecution Service, Transport for London, the National LGBT Police Network and the Gay Police Association Scotland.
PinkNews founder and CEO Benjamin Cohen said:
Fifteen years on from the lifting on the ban of gay and lesbian people serving in the military, it was fitting for the MOD to be recognised by the PinkNews Awards judges as the public sector employer of the year.
Earlier in the year, Lieutenant-General Andrew Richard Gregory gave a ground-breaking interview to PinkNews about the role of trans people in our Armed Forces. It is so promising to see that in such a short period of time, our Armed Forces have begun to accurately reflect the population they defend regardless of race, sexuality or gender identity. There is still much more to do, but the progress achieved already made the MOD a worthy winner.
Lt Cdr Chris Wood, co-vice chairman of the Naval Service Compass Network (LGBT), said it was a great honour to receive the award on behalf of the MOD and that it is a positive sign of how far the department has progressed. He added:
It has been a remarkable year. In January we marked the 15th anniversary of LGBT personnel being allowed to serve openly and the Royal Navy, Army and RAF made it into the Stonewall Top 100 employers list. Then in June, the largest ever contingent of military personnel marched with our civilian colleagues at London Pride.
The MOD also flew the rainbow flag for the first time in history, demonstrating that the MOD really does support all personnel, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is a great privilege for our progress to be recognised by PinkNews in this way.
Lt Cdr Samantha Truelove, fellow vice-chairman of the network, said:
Much of what Chris and I do is aimed to encourage our members to take part and get involved in various events and that includes supporting and contributing to the wider MOD and broader community.
Working closely with our colleagues in the Army, RAF and MOD Civil Service, who equally support such events, it is the collective effort of all networks and people that should be recognised with this fantastic award.
