placeholder
Stuart Gentle Publisher at Onrec
  • 26 Oct 2016
  • |

Mercer’s Head of HR for UK & Ireland makes Top 100 OUTstanding LGBT Business Leaders List for third year running

Siobhan Martin is ranked no 71 amongst prominent UK business executives

Mercer’s UK & Ireland HR Director and Board Member, Dr Siobhan Martin, has made the Top 100 OUTstanding LGBT Business Leaders List for the third year running. The ranking is compiled by OUTstanding, a not-for-profit professional network for LGBT executives and their allies, in collaboration with the Financial Times, and aims to recognise the actions of executives that have sought to make the workplace more welcoming to LGBT individuals. Dr Martin was nominated by her colleagues in the UK chapter of Mercer’s own lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allies (LGBTA) Employee Network because of her continuous efforts around ensuring Mercer is an inclusive company.

“As recent political events have shown us, equality should not to be taken for granted and rights can be easily eroded,” said Dr Martin. “Businesses occupy a unique place to make equality a reality and we should all continue to work hard to make that possible. I am absolutely thrilled to be recognised in the OUTstanding listing, an honour I share with all my colleagues who work tirelessly to make the world a more welcoming and inclusive place for everyone.”

Dr Martin has been instrumental in driving cultural change throughout Mercer and on its behalf across the wider business community. She is the Global Chair of the Business Innovation work stream of Mercer’s global LGBT network and has been a driving force in developing the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy (D&I), council and advisory group. She has rolled out several UK initiatives to help improve staff understanding of Mercer’s D&I policies. Dr Martin is a School Governor, Patron of the MD Charitable Foundation, a Parochial Church Council member of All Hallows by the Tower, an Advisory Board Member for the Professional Women’s Network and a mother of two teenagers. She was recently honoured as a Fellow by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, for services to Business, Charity & Public Life.

OUTstanding CEO and founder Suki Sandhu said, “Large corporations have the power and influence to promote LGBT+ inclusion and pave the way for real societal change around the world. By recognising the impact of those who are leading the charge, the OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ & Ally Executives and LGBT+ Future Leaders Lists continue to inspire both businesses and individuals to drive LGBT+ equality forward.

“OUTstanding exists to challenge the assumption that you cannot be out and successful in business, to create  role  models  that  will  inspire  the  next  generation  of  business  leaders  and  to  encourage companies to use their far reaching voices for good.”