Investment-banking giant Morgan Stanley has launched a career development mentoring programme for its lesbian, gay and bi-sexual staff.

The scheme was set up primarily to enable members of their 60-strong LGB network “to discuss careers and career development with LGB colleagues who are senior to themselves”. 

Abbas Jaffer, who has been head of diversity and graduate recruitment at Morgan Stanley since 2000, heads up the programme.

Abbas told People Management magazine it is “an opportunity for developing a network of contacts across divisions" for staff.

The bank has about 7,000 employees in the UK. This year it was ranked 78 in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index.

It first created an LGB network in 2003, and around 1.5% of its employees identified themselves as LGB in a sexual orientation survey carried out in 2006.

Abbas said the firm "actively encouraged employees to feel comfortable about being themselves” and they “see a clear link between staff being comfortable about their sexuality and the positive impact upon productivity”. 

Stonewall's recent figures show that around a third of people thought they would be more productive in the workplace if they could be open about their sexuality but feared bullying if they came out. 

Abbas Jaffer is due to speak at the Stonewall workplace conference on 16 April in London, alongside Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Gordon Pell chief executive of Retail Markets at RBS and Ron Dobson commissioner of the London Fire Brigade.