UK:- Want a gay-friendly employer? Join the police...

No less than seven of the UK's police forces are now among the top 25 gay-friendly employers in Britain, in the latest list compiled by LGBT rights group Stonewall. Brian Paddick, who for a long time was the country's highest-ranked openly gay policemen, says things have changed a lot since he originally enlisted.

I remember being bawled at by the drill sergeant when one of my fellow recruits tried to protect himself from the cold, "Only girls and poofs wear gloves!" The general consensus on the riot van, shortly after I completed my training, was that "only queers wear aftershave – you don't wear aftershave, do you Brian?" (guardian.co.uk)

Stonewall point out that there's a big difference between having policies on paper and making them stick in the workplace. This year's Top 100 Employers list is base on the largest ever survey of lesbian, gay and bisexual employees, with over 7,000 participants. Overall leader was IBM, which topped the poll for the second time in four years.

‘Competition was fiercer than ever to secure a place on the 2010 Top Employers List,' says Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive. 'We received more entries than any previous year from employers who understand and have benefited from Stonewall’s research which found that gay people are far more likely to buy goods or services from companies they know are gay-friendly. The Index is a powerful tool used by Britain's 1.7 million gay employees and 150,000 gay university students to decide where to take their talent and skills.'