Making Banking Inclusive: Barclays' history of championing LGBTQ+ rights

Barclays has a strong track record in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) colleagues and customers.

Whether it’s being the first bank to promote a transgender woman to the position of branch manager or the first bank to feature LGBT+ couples in our advertising, we have a strong history of championing LGBT+ rights and being a market leader in this space.

We have also supported marriage equality bills in both the UK and US, and have sponsored Pride celebrations across the world. This includes having sponsored Pride in London since 2014 and supporting many other regional events.

Our personalised debit card function allows customers to add a range of rainbow, bisexual and trans flag filters and overlays to their debit cards – to add a little more Pride into their everyday payments.

Our current account, debit card and savings customers are able to select an ‘MX’ title on their registered account details.

Working at Barclays

We have provided pronouns guidance to all colleagues, explaining the importance of personal pronouns, and encouraging their use across email signatures, video conferencing display names and in person.

Our Out To Drive Change training programme equips leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to provide a supportive, inclusive environment for LGBT+ colleagues. We offer private medical cover for transitioning trans colleagues.

Internships and Apprenticeships

Barclays has delivered a series of diversity-focused recruitment insight events for Apprenticeship hiring in collaboration with Spectrum, to showcase career opportunities and our diversity networks and enrich the diversity of talent we welcome to Barclays Apprenticeship Programmes.

Spectrum – Barclays LGBTQ+ resource group

Our employee resource group (ERG), Spectrum, is dedicated to supporting colleagues and Spectrum allies who are members or supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer-inclusive (LGBTQ+) community and other non-mainstream groups on the spectrums of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As an ally, colleagues commit to staying informed and vocally challenging homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and to educate others on the importance of inclusion, equality, diversity, and respect.

Spectrum is one of our longest-standing ERGs, set up nearly 20 years ago and leads the way in celebrating Pride around the world. Our annual Spectrum fundraising dinners raise over £200,000 every year for LGBT+ charities.

Supporting other businesses

Our business and corporate banking team works with start-ups, SME and corporate banking clients to advise them on how to foster inclusive working environments, and support their LGBT+ colleagues through a number of life experiences.

Barclays is proud to be a partner of Open For Business, a coalition of global companies making the case that inclusive, diverse societies are better for business and better for economic growth.

Our partnerships

We’re a Stonewall Top 100 Employer - a list is compiled from the Workplace Equality Index, the UK’s leading benchmarking tool for LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace.

We’re a member of TeamPride, supporting Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign to champion LGBT+ inclusion in sport.

Through fundraising and colleague volunteering we support the Terrence Higgins Trust Work Positive Programme, which supports those living with HIV back into work.

We are a founding partner of LGBT Foundations of Pride in Ageing in the North West, which supports over 50-year-olds with access to housing, health, mental wellbeing counselling, and access to group support for coping with isolation.

Find out more about working at Barclays

Explore current career opportunities at Barclays