Nine out of ten of the Stonewall's Top 100 Employers of 2009 are public sector bodies. The index, which ranks organisations on their gay-awareness, lists 75 public sector organisations including 22 police forces, 15 local authorities and 15 government departments.

The index names Lloyds TSB as the best place to work in 2009 followed by Hampshire Constabulary and Brighton and Hove City Council.

The Home Office won the award for Employee Network Group of the Year and Simmons & Simmons was named the Most Improved Lawyer at the launch of the index on Wednesday evening.

The abundance of public sector organisations in the listing adds to the sector's reputation as a diverse and forward-thinking place to work. Several public sector organisations won accolades at the end of last year in the Business in the Community Race for Opportunities awards which rate organisations' policies on employing black and ethnic minority staff. Several public sector organisations have been listed in The Times Top 50 Places Where Women Want to Work. West Midlands Police appeared in all three — it won the public sector award for diversity, is a top employer for women and features at number 28 in the Stonewall ranking.

Stonewall ranked the employers according to a range of criteria from implementation of equality policies to demonstration of good practice in recruitment and mentoring; to how organisations treat staff and customers. Stonewall said that 317 employers took part in the benchmarking exercise compared with 136 when the listing was first launched in 2005. Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall, said: “This was our most competitive

index to date. We received more entries than ever before from employers who have taken heed of recent Stonewall 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.”

Alex Marshall, the Chief Constable for Hampshire, said: “A huge effort has gone into this organisation in recent years to make sure people feel comfortable and valued. To get this recognition is the icing on the cake. For a police force, such recognition is hugely important. We want to give an excellent service to the public, we want to be active in every neighbourhood and we want to catch as many criminals as possible. To achieve all of those things, we need a workforce that represents all the communities we serve and brings all the skills that a diverse workforce can bring.

“Our success is not about political correctness or bringing our personal lives to work; it's about ensuring the organisation treats employees with respect and allows everyone to do their job to the best of their abilities.

“If our police officers and staff can feel comfortable about their sexuality at work, I think that will also encourage prospective employees from other minority backgrounds.”

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