SEEN in HR

It’s been almost a week since this hateful attack on LGB Alliance conference attendees. And what have we heard from the ‘mainstream’ LGBT… organisations? Erm, crickets (sorry!). So many employers are signed up to the Stonewall schemes and advocate for a ‘gender identity’ first approach. Stonewall have failed to make any comment at all about this homophobic attack (despite promoting hate crime awareness week all this week 🤯). Failure to condemn is endorsement of homophobic harassment. If your organisation is involved with Stonewall, it is endorsing this, too, and potentially creating a hostile environment for LGB people whose sexual orientation is based on sex. We stand in solidarity with LGB Alliance. Your existence and work is much needed. #SEEN #HumanResources #BeMoreSEEN https://lnkd.in/e6uRzbAc

Thanks Police SEEN UK for sharing your reflections on this inspection into activism and impartiality in the police. No.5 is particularly interesting, on external trainers - a challenge by no means limited to police forces. Please see their LinkedIn page for a continuation of this analysis below…

A concerned HR professional contacted us to say they had been approached by this company HeyFlow | Female* reproductive health inclusion at work to provide workplace training. The concern is about the erasure of the word ‘woman’ in the information put out out by this company (the asterisk after ‘female’ tells a story). We know this company is not unique in this regard but actually this is one of the most blatant negations of women’s experiences that we’ve seen for a while. Women are ‘people with internal reproductive health organs’ and ’people who experience reproductive health moments’ (‘moments’ Okaaaaay…). Here’s their ‘inclusion statement’: ‘The mission of HeyFlow is to help businesses understand the impact reproductive health in the workplace can have in contributing to the systemic issues of blocked career progression, accessibility and inclusion, and the gender pay gap. ‘As we specifically look at the internal reproductive health topics of menstruation, fertility, pregnancy & menopause, when we use the term ‘female’, this is purely for accessibility of language (and a little bit of keyword stuffing) rather than an accurate reflection of all women, or all men. ‘As there is currently a lack of trans-inclusive research on reproductive health, even more so on its impact in the workplace, we occasionally use the term ‘women’ when referring to statistics. Although these findings could be extended to all people who experience those reproductive health moments, there will likely be intersectional compounding factors which will affect trans, non-binary and intersex people, so for accuracy we have kept the original terms that were used in those particular studies. As well as insultingly reducing women and their experiences to biological body parts and functions, this language is virtually impenetrable to anyone who is uninitiated in gender ideology, or whose levels of English are poor (remember the recent census turnabout ….). Language needs to be clear both in policies and in practice. Dehumanising women in this way is not ‘inclusive’; it is insulting and it excludes any gender-critical or sex-realist employee who knows that sex is real and matters. #HumanResources #HR #EqualityAct #BeMoreSEEN

The British Medical Association has reversed its decision to reject the outcomes of the Cass review, instead taking a neutral position while it conducts its own review. The numbers voting were proportionally small when this decision was first made. It’s worth noting that statements supportive of the Cass review were issued by the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the Association of Clinical Psychologists. Employers need to be aware of this shift by the BMA, now questioning their own questioning of the review. What messages are your LGBT+ networks, your EDI lead or the external trainers / consultants giving about Cass? #CassReview #SEEN #BeMoreSEEN #HR #HumanResources https://lnkd.in/exv88fQ5

We are pleased to announce that the Police SEEN UK website is live! Important work on our journey for formal recognition - in support of all colleagues that believe in sex equality and accurate data recording. https://lnkd.in/eTX2yzf9

A very useful report on the tribunal judgments to date - should be essential reading for every EDI lead and HR Director to prevent discrimination in the workplace. Why not send it to yours?! ‘Don’t get caught out’! #HumanResources #HR #EmploymentTribunal #SexMatters #EqualityAct #BeMoreSEEN #SEEN #DiversityAndInclusion #EDI https://lnkd.in/eSWTBHRg

The various SEEN networks will have a joint stall at the upcoming Battle of Ideas Festival in London. If you’re going, do check it out to learn more about our work. It’s great to be working together for this. Link to the festival details in the comments. #BeMoreSEEN #SEEN #BattleofIdeas

Plaid Cymru have admitted discriminating against FILiA, a feminist organisation which supports women and advocates for sex-based rights. The party cancelled FILIA’s stall at their conference on the grounds of the organisation’s stance on sex-based rights. This was in breach of the Equality Act. Naomi Cunningham states: ‘Plaid Cymru’s tight-lipped and grudging concession implies that it thinks “the law as it stands” is unsatisfactory, and it is hoping for a change of law that will enable it to discriminate on grounds of “gender-critical” belief in future. Activists are free to work towards that change if they choose, but meanwhile political parties along with public authorities, service-providers and employers must all comply with the law as it is.’ Well done to FILIA for challenging this and thanks to them for all the work they do to support women and girls nationally and internationally. Read FILIA’s full statement at the link below. #SexNotGender #EqualityAct #discrimination #SexMatters #BeMoreSEEN https://lnkd.in/ec3CdFhd

We welcome the news about this ONS data on the population of trans-identified people from the last census being re-classified as unreliable. The question was a mess and incomprehensible by some people, notably those uninitiated in gender ideology and some people whose first language is not English. Organisations similarly need to be careful not to privilege ideology over facts and ask for personal data using simple and clear language and to have a robust rationale for collecting that data. #data #census #ONS #SEEN #BeMoreSEEN #HumanResources #HR https://lnkd.in/enzRZ_dj

An important crowdfunder here for a case against NHS England for refusing to provide single-sex facilities at work (allowing trans-identified males into female only spaces) . This employee is challenging her employer on the basis of indirect discrimination on the basis of sex (women), religion (Islam), philosophical belief (gender critical) and disability (PTSD) for having a policy in place which effectively renders the supposed single-sex toilet, changing room and showering facilities as mixed-sex. She states: This is one of the first cases in England where a court will be asked to decide whether such a trans staff policy is discriminatory against employees with other protected characteristics. There has been no Equality Impact Assessment conducted in relation to the policy. When developing the policy, NHSE did not thoroughly consider the needs of women or the implications of trauma and religion, or the normal and common boundary a female member of staff might assert that she just simply does not want to shower in direct line of sight with a biological male. CIPD what are your reflections on this potential case being brought? The employee is using the Equality Act to challenge the same practice that is advocated in your trans inclusion guidance. Her legal representatives feel she has a case. We agree. #HR #HumanResources #SexNotGender #SEEN #BeMoreSEEN https://lnkd.in/dMPqgENN %2C%20NHSE%20effectively,female%2Donly%20by%20excluding%20males