19 May 2011

UQ was named as one of the 10 most GLBT-friendly employers of 2010 in Australia at the Pride in Diversity Awards and Luncheon on Tuesday.

The University was recognised in Sydney by Pride In Diversity, Australia’s first employer support program for the inclusion of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) people in the workplace.

Winners were determined using the group’s Australian Workplace Equality Index, a free service provided annually by Pride In Diversity that evaluates and benchmarks GLBT inclusiveness in Australian workplaces.

The top 10 Australian employers for GLBT people in ranking order were IBM, the Australian Federal Police, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, Telstra, Accenture and Macquarie University (equal sixth), PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the University of Queensland, and the University of Western Australia and Curtin University (equal 10th).

UQ Equity Office Director Dr Ann Stewart said the new honour followed last year's Diversity at Work Award’ for its UQ Ally program.

The UQ Ally program is a visible network of empathetic staff who are allies of students and staff identifying as lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, or intersex and who strongly support the University's stance on fostering an environment where people of all sexualities and gender identities can safely study and work free of harassment or discrimination.

"This is a very nice entree to the University's ninth annual Diversity Week with five days of activities from 23-27 May 2011," she said.

Speakers at the awards luncheon at the Sydney Hilton’s Glass restaurant included Pride In Diversity’s patron, the Hon. Michael Kirby, Olympian and Telstra sporting ambassador Matthew Mitcham, and a panel of CEOs and top executives from some of Australia’s leading public and private sector organisations.