Stonewall at Pride London July 2010 pic: anemoneprojectors (no internet at the moment) (Flickr)

Tower Hamlets Council is ranked highest out of all London boroughs in a list of gay-friendly employers compiled by the charity Stonewall.

The local authority was placed 16th on the list, maintaining its place in the top 20 despite dropping four places since last year.

The list is compiled from submissions to gay-rights charity Stonewall’s annual Worker’s Equality Index.

The Index measures how well Britain’s employers perform at creating inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual workers.

This year over 350 businesses and organisations, responsible for 1.9 million employees took part in the assessment.

Their performance is ranked in areas ranging from tackling bullying and harassment, to supporting the career development of LGB employees.

Claire McComb, from East London Out Project, a prominent lesbian and gay charity, said: “Organisations on the Stonewall index are at the forefront of making their workplaces inclusive of diversity.”

However she added: “despite…protection under the Equality Act (2010) some LGBT people still experience discrimination in the workplace”.

The list also includes Hackney Council, which was the third highest London borough on the list. The council came 80th, slipping down the list after coming 23rd last year.

Both Tower Hamlets and Hackney Councils were unable to comment at this time.