Award Winners
Find out which individuals and network groups have done exceptional work to advance LGBTQ+ workplace equality.
As part of our annual Workplace Equality Index, we recognise the organisations and the people within them who have shown particular dedication to LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace and have strived to make progress, be it in their network groups, or as individuals.
To view the full list of the top 100, please see here. If you’re interested in furthering your organisation’s commitment to equality and inclusion, then please consider becoming one of our Diversity Champions.
Changemakers:
- Deutsche Bank – Jill Leflour (he/him)
Jill Leflour is one of our recipients of the Changemaker award this year, in recognition of his work to create positive change both inside and outside of Deutsche Bank. Whilst working his day job as a Machine Learning Engineer, he has used his role as the trans rep for dbPride UKI, to raise awareness on trans issues to 150+ management delegates, and has mentored colleagues as part of Deutsche Bank’s reverse mentoring scheme.
He has additionally led partnerships with several LGBTQ+ organisations and has volunteered with The Urswick School’s Pride Youth Network as part of Deutsche Bank’s Born to be Proud project in partnership with Educate & Celebrate. Stonewall is especially proud to celebrate Jill’s inclusion in Deutsche Bank’s ‘This is me – It’s OK not to be OK’ global campaign for World Mental Health Day 2023, where he openly shared his experience of being trans and having ADHD.
Outside of work, Jill is a coach at Knockout, England’s first LGBTQ+ amateur boxing club, where he has actively talked about LGBTQ+ inclusion in boxing through various campaigns. His dedication to raising awareness through personal storytelling, is what makes us proud to call Jill one of our Changemakers of 2024.
- Tesco - Ben Kearney (he/him)
Stonewall is proud to announce Ben Kearney, Content and Social Media Assistant for Tesco, as one of our Changemaker award winners for 2024. Ben volunteered for the LGBTQ+ at Tesco Network as Pride Lead in 2023/24, where he spearheaded Pride at Tesco, collaborating with various teams to deliver Tesco’s biggest ever pride proposition, coordinating parade attendance across the UK, supporting the new “standing proud together” campaign and organising lunches for parade volunteers. Ben has also worked with many charities and non-profit organisations, including fundraising for an LGBTQ+ charity by cycling 500 miles for LGBTQ+ History Month.
As a result of Ben’s work on Pride, brand association with Pride increased by 12%, making Tesco the leading retailer in this space.
Outside of Tesco, Ben has worked as a professional drag artist, bringing this to life through awareness raising events, educating colleagues on LGBTQ+ issues and identities. His tangible results for Tesco, alongside his community partnerships, is what makes Ben a standout Changemaker this year.
- Cloudcall – Robin Hunt, (they/them)
Robin Hunt, Senior Marketing Specialist at CloudCall, is one of our Changemakers of the Year for 2024 for their brilliant work in championing mental health support and for using their marketing skills to influence change in the wider community.
Robin provides insight for a number of employee network groups, offering a focused perspective on mental health, women’s rights and ethnicity. They hosted an LGBTQIA+ panel discussion for CloudCall’s Pride Month webinar series, highlighting the need for technology-driven businesses to provide inclusive workplaces for their LGBTQ+ staff. They have also ensured that LGBTQ+ awareness days are celebrated, using their marketing expertise to promote supportive conversations with CloudCall’s online followers.
Outside of CloudCall, Robin continues to create an inclusive online platform, dedicated to education, community-building, and celebrating the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community. Their continued support and activism for LGBTQ+ inclusion, is what makes Robin one of our Changemakers of the Year.
- Greater Manchester authority – Jax Effiong (she/her)
With a leading role as the Diversity and Inclusion Manager for Greater Manchester Combined Authority & GM Fire and Rescue Service, Jax Effiong has been instrumental in driving the organisations DEI strategy and promoting LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace through mutual mentorship programmes, leading the design and delivery of in person Inclusive Culture training across the whole organisation and by sharing her own experiences of being a multi racial lesbian woman through her Human Book method that allows her to explore topics on intersectionality, representation and acceptance.
Jax has ensured that networks include senior sponsors, that staff are encouraged to share their pronouns, and that training is inclusive of all LGBTQIA+ identities. She has stewarded GMFRS’s EDI journey through their Count Me In Pledge, and as Chair of LGBT Foundation, she has become a voice in the campaign to aid older LGBTQIA+ people in their end-of-life care through the ‘Box me in’ initiative that focuses on delivering respectful and considerate care for the LGBTQIA+ community, bringing queer hope and joy across our LGBTQIA+ communities.
Jax’s continued work on intersectional inclusion, is what makes us proud to call her one of 2024 Stonewall’s Changemaker of the Year.
- Touchstone – Tristan Batten (he/him)
Tristan Batten, a Peer Recovery Support Coordinator, and co-chair of the LGBTQ+ staff network group at Touchstone, is one of our Changemakers for 2024. He has been able to grow his leadership skills in a service delivery setting, developing improved inclusive mental health services and ensuring an intersectional approach is applied throughout his work at Touchstone.
As a carer himself, Tristan has developed an LGBTQ+ inclusive Staff Carers network group, supporting other colleagues in the process, whilst at the same time offering support to patients with complex mental health needs, supporting their dischargement from hospital by staying with the patient in those first few weeks following discharge. Stonewall is proud to award Tristan as a Changemaker this year to acknowledge his dedication and commitment in providing ongoing support to both patients and colleagues at Touchstone.
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals – Rachel Salmon (she/they)
Since joining Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Rachel Salmon has been driving LGBTQ+ inclusion in healthcare, ensuring that the Trust are able to deliver on their ability to provide inclusive care.
As one of this year’s Changemakers, Rachel has acted as an LGBTQ+ representative for inclusive healthcare initiatives. They have championed for improved asexual inclusivity for internal scans, have diversified the Trust’s IVF patient information documents to be inclusive of all parents regardless of gender or sexuality, and has helped to ensure trans and non-binary patients are able to receive the support and information they need regarding MRIs and X-rays.
Not only has Rachel committed herself to improving LGBTQ+ inclusion in her work, she has also forged links with charities that offer safe spaces for disabled LGBTQ+ people, and has helped to deliver training on inclusive language, ensuring more people feel included and accepted by the Trust and within the wider community. For this, we are proud to call Rachel a 2024 Stonewall Changemaker of the Year.
Network Group of the Year:
- Northern Ireland Civil Service, LGBTQ+ Staff Network Group
Stonewall is delighted to celebrate the achievements of the Northern Ireland Civil Service’s LGBTQ+ staff network group as the 2024 Stonewall Network Group of the Year. As a network, they have affected change, both for its members and for the wider community, and their reach and impact on inclusive initiatives are fantastic to see.
With regularly attended events throughout the year, the network has been able to extend its reach to over 1000 employees. They have spearheaded awareness raising events on topics such as LGBTQ+ history, mental health, gender euphoria, micro-aggressions and parenting. They have forged links with senior staff to engage with reverse mentoring sessions with an LGBTQ+ mentor, and have held social events, club meetings, and family fun days to bring the network together.
A particular strength has been the network group’s ability to connect with staff across multiple locations, with a series of road shows that promote the role the network has within the organisation. They have been instrumental in feeding back on internal staff policies, as well as making sure LGBTQ+ customers are considered when developing audits of customer journeys, leading to positive changes to both customers and staff alike.