National Grid has been placed 75th in Stonewall’s 2010 UK top 100 employers for lesbian, gay and bi-sexual  people. The ranking marks an improvement on last year’s 87th place.

In addition, 'Pride' (National Grid’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employee resource group) has been recognised by Stonewall as a star performer network group – a recognition scheme introduced this year for the first time to showcase excellence in employee networks.

The top 100 employers in Stonewall’s 2010 index were ranked according to criteria ranging from implementation of effective equality policies to practical demonstrations of good practice in recruitment. The ranking also considered mentoring, and how employers engage with lesbian and gay staff, customers and service users.

This is the second year Stonewall has used its revised and updated Index criteria, challenging employers to demonstrate how their efforts to support lesbian, gay and bi-sexual employees have a lasting impact on the workplace. Employers have responded to this challenge in greater numbers and to higher standards than ever before, with a record 352 organisations participating in the Index. The minimum score needed to secure a place in the Top 100 was 10 per cent higher than in 2009.