A record number of organisations have entered this year’s Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, in a bid to be named the country’s most gay-friendly employer.

The campaign group’s index, now in its seventh year, saw 378 organisations enter the benchmarking exercise that showcases Britain’s leading employers for ***, gay and bisexual staff. This was up from 352 entries in 2010 and 317 in 2009.

Employers from 25 different industries made submissions this year, and sectors with five organisations featuring in the top 100 employers list included universities, health and law for the first time.

More than 9,100 ***, gay and bisexual (LGB) staff responded to feedback surveys, which form part of the index assessment.

The number of organisations in the top 100 that run LGB awareness campaigns for all staff also increased to 96 per cent in 2011 – a rise of 31 per cent since 2009.

David Shields, Stonewall’s director of workplace programmes, said: “This year's Workplace Equality Index profiles employers who are leading the way in sexual orientation equality best practice. These employers understand that people perform better when they can be themselves and are working with the index to create inclusive workplaces for ***, gay and bisexual staff.”

Shields said that the standard of entries was also increasing, adding: “To secure a top 100 place employers had to achieve a minimum score that was higher than the average overall score in the 2009 index – demonstrating the progress British employers are making on sexual orientation.”

The 2011 Workplace Equality Index saw a 25 per cent placement change in the top 100 compared to 2010. The full list, including this year’s top placed employer, is due to be announced on 12 January.

First place in last year’s index was awarded to IT and consultancy giant IBM.