Media Releases

Colin Macfarlane, Director of Stonewall Scotland (he/him) said: ‘We welcome today’s commitment from the First Minister to introduce a bill to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in the upcoming year. Trans people across Scotland have been waiting far too long for equality, and this vital change will simply make it easier for trans people to live their daily lives by having the right gender recorded on their birth certificate. These reforms are long-awaited, with the process having gone through two public consultations over the last four years and leaving trans communities in limbo. While we still have some concerns over both three-month periods of time proposed in the new process, we will continue to work with the Scottish Government and MSPs to ensure that this reform is the best it can be for trans communities in Scotland.

‘We also welcome the news that the Scottish Government will centrally fund NHS gender identity service improvements for the next three years, and will set out a plan for transformation of the service by late 2021. All trans people should be able to access high quality, safe and effective healthcare when they need it, however current waiting times for first appointments are up to three years long. We have been calling on the Government to take urgent action to ensure NHS gender identity services are fit for purpose and meet the needs of trans communities, and we look forward to seeing the Scottish Governments plan for transformation of the service.

‘It is also very reassuring to hear the Programme for Government make a commitment to “protect LGBT people from harm by banning the damaging promotion and practice of conversion therapy, bringing forward legislation that is as comprehensive as possible within devolved powers by the end of 2023, if UK Government proposals do not go far enough.”

‘As well as this, we welcome commitments on funding the delivery of LGBTQ+ inclusive education, improving non-binary equality and wellbeing, and consulting on proposals to incorporate human rights into Scots law. At Stonewall Scotland, we will continue to work with all MSPs to ensure these promising commitments become a reality, and ensure that all lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people in Scotland are free to be themselves.’

After a pandemic-induced hiatus, Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list is back to provide the definitive list of LGBTQ-inclusive workplaces in the UK in 2022 – with financial services firm Macquarie Group topping the list.

Today, we are proud to announce the 2022 edition of Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers List – the UK’s leading ranking of employers from public, private and third sectors based on how inclusive their workplaces are.

2022’s Top Employer for LGBTQ+ people is global financial services firm, Macquarie Group. Macquarie first became a Top 100 Employer in 2016 and achieved the 33rd position in 2020. They’ve risen to the top of the list this year after continuing to build on their inclusion work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re thrilled with the recognition of how important LGBTQ+ inclusion is to Macquarie, in the UK and globally,” said Paul Plewman, Chief Executive Officer for Macquarie Group in EMEA (he/him).

“This achievement recognises years of work to ensure that all our people feel empowered and can thrive, and is a tribute to the commitment of the whole Macquarie team.”  

The Top 100 Employers List is compiled through submissions to a free, voluntary benchmarking tool, the Workplace Equality Index. All submissions are then marked against thorough and standardised criteria and the Top 100 Employers are picked out for their excellent work in creating inclusive workplaces for their LGBTQ+ staff.

“It’s been wonderful to see all of the work put in by the private, public and third sector organisations making up the Top 100 Employers List this year,” said Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall (she/her).

“For many of us, the majority of our time is spent at work, so if we don’t feel comfortable being ourselves, it can take an enormous toll. Creating environments where we can all feel comfortable makes the workplace a safer, better and friendlier place for everyone and helps staff be proud of who they are.

“In the midst of criticism and questions about our inclusion work, we’re launching our Bring Yourself To Work campaign to highlight what this work is all about – changing LGBTQ+ people’s lives for the better. That’s what we’ve always been here to do, and we make no apology for it.”

The Top 100 takes submissions from public, private and third sector organisations. The financial sector was the most successful sector within the Top 100 Employers List this year, with a total of sixteen firms from financial services placing on the list. The legal and education sectors are also well represented on the list, with fifteen and fourteen legal firms and education organisations respectively.

View the full list of 2022 Top 100 employers. 

National LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) organisations in Scotland have welcomed the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, published today.

Scottish Trans, Equality Network, LGBT Youth Scotland, Stonewall Scotland, and LGBT Health and Wellbeing all agree that the Bill’s proposed reforms will be greatly beneficial to trans men and trans women in Scotland.

The Bill proposes reforms to the Gender Recognition Act, which since 2004 has enabled trans men and trans women to change the sex listed on their birth certificate, currently via a very complicated process.

Many trans people, as well as equality and human rights organisations, have criticised the current procedure as being slow, outdated, and unfair, and say that it falls well below international best practice for legal gender recognition.

When the UK first introduced the Gender Recognition Act in 2004, it was a world-leading piece of legislation. But in the past two decades, many countries and territories around the world have significantly improved their laws, with nine states in Europe alone ahead of Scotland in this area.

The Scottish Government has previously run two public consultations (in 2017/18 and 2019/20) on how the Gender Recognition Act should be reformed. In both of these consultations, the majority of respondents in Scotland supported the proposed reform to simplify the process, and to move to a system of statutory self-declaration.

The Scottish Government’s Bill proposes to make the following key changes:

• Move to a system whereby a trans person makes a formal legal statutory declaration confirming the sex in which they have been living for at least 3 months and their intention to continue to do so for the rest of their life, rather than having to wait until two years after they have permanently transitioned to apply.
• Introduce a 3 month ‘reflection’ period before a gender recognition certificate would be issued (meaning a trans person will have had to live in that sex for over 6 months before being able to change their birth certificate.)
• Remove the current requirement to provide a demeaning psychiatric report containing intrusive details such as what toys trans people played with as children, their sexual relationships, and how distressed they were before transitioning.
• Remove the current requirement to provide an invasive medical report describing any hormonal or surgical treatment they are planning or have undergone, or confirming they do not intend to undergo such treatment.
• Allow 16 and 17 year olds to apply for a gender recognition certificate.

The national LGBTI groups say these are very important reforms. The current requirements stigmatise trans people by linking legal recognition of who they are to a psychiatric report, and deny them their right to privacy over personal choices they have made about medical treatments. Because they cannot currently apply until two years after they have been permanently living in their transitioned sex, trans people are currently at risk of discrimination or harassment whenever they need to use their birth certificate to prove their identity.

Trans people can already change their name and sex on identity documents such as passports and driving licences, and can access a wide range of single-sex services and spaces without a gender recognition certificate. The reform will not affect this.

In their manifestos for the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, the Scottish National Party, Scottish Labour, Scottish Greens, and Scottish Liberal Democrats all committed to reforming the Gender Recognition Act. This means 97 MSPs (75% of the total 129 MSPs) were elected on commitments to pass this Bill.

Even with the welcome positive change proposed in these reforms, there are still many further improvements to the Gender Recognition Act that LGBTI orgnaisations say could be made, to make Scotland a world leader in trans rights. For example, the reforms do not include any provisions for the legal recognition of non-binary people, which many places around the world have done successfully, including Malta and Iceland.

Scottish Trans, Equality Network, LGBT Youth Scotland, Stonewall Scotland, and LGBT Health and Wellbeing are calling for the debate on this bill to be conducted respectfully and without personal abuse. They are asking all MSPs to support this Bill as an important step forward to improving the lives of trans men and women in Scotland.

Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans Alliance Manager, said:

“We welcome the proposals in this Bill, that would see a massive improvement in how trans men and trans women in Scotland are able to be legally recognised as who they are. The current process is difficult, stressful and expensive, and it reinforces harmful stereotypes about trans people: that who we are is a mental illness, and that our choices about our bodies are not our own to choose to share with others. While the proposals fall far short of a law that would enable all trans people in Scotland to be legally recognised as who we are, this important step forward is one that we hope that all MSPs across the Chamber can support.”

Sarah, a 66 year old trans woman from Aberdeenshire, said:

“These changes would mean so much to me. I am a woman. It’s who I am, to my core. It’s how I’ve lived most of my adult life, how I am seen by friends, and how I have been loved. To know for so many years that that has not been, and could not be, recognised, has been painful. I hope that these reforms will pass, so that who I really am, and not who I might have been, can finally be legally recognised.”

Amy Winter, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, said:

“Myself and other trans including non-binary young people have been waiting on this moment for a long time and are looking forward to the changes we hope this bill will make for our future. As much as I am excited about the proposed changes I would be lying if I said I was 100% happy with everything. I am still saddened by the fact that those of us who are non-binary have not been included. That being said I am in full support of this bill and think it is a massive step in the right direction for trans rights in Scotland.”

Patricia, a 25 year old trans woman from Edinburgh, said:

“Despite what others might say, I am a woman. As such, all of my identity documents, including my passport and driver’s licence, have an ‘F’ printed on them. I’ve been transitioning for almost half a decade now, and in everyday situations, whether out in public or at work, people treat me as a woman. 

“I just want to live my life in peace, and for my privacy to be respected. Reforming the Gender Recognition Act will make a real difference to transgender people’s lives and ensure that, unlike me, future applicants won’t have to put up with years of having a birth certificate that doesn’t reflect who they are.” 

Tim Hopkins, Equality Network Director, said:

“We are united in calling for respectful debate. Social media is now often a horrible place for trans people, because of the unrelenting abuse. Many others, including MSPs, and in particular women and those on both sides of this debate, experience that abuse too. We should all speak out about the unacceptability of personalised abuse or threats in political debate in Scotland.”

Mhairi Crawford, LGBT Youth Scotland Chief Executive, said:

“We welcome this significant step on a long journey improving trans people’s access to their rights.  Young people tell us that this is particularly important as they move between education institutions, out of the family home, or start work and significantly benefit from consistent gender markers across their documentation.  Positively this will be extended to 16 and 17-year-olds, in keeping with the rights and responsibilities afforded to this age group in other aspects of their lives. They would also like to see a process put in place for those under 16 to be able to access a GRC and we call for this addition.”

Colin Macfarlane, Stonewall Scotland and Northern Ireland Director, said:

“It has been six years since the Scottish Government pledged to make this reform. In that time we have had two major public consultations, endless discussion about trans people rather than with trans people about their lives along with daily misinformation about what these proposals will actually do. Recent polling suggests a majority of Scots are in favour of the proposed changes. It is now time to get on with the process of legislative scrutiny, which should be done in a respectful way based on evidence and fact. We look forward to working with MSPs across all parties to ensure the Bill passes so that trans people can be free to be themselves.”

Maruska Greenwood, LGBT Health and Wellbeing Chief Executive, said:

“Through our helpline, trans-specific and wider support programmes we see on a daily basis the hugely negative impact the divisive public debate is having on trans adults in Scotland. Whilst many in society have strong views on these issues, there is widespread recognition of the need to reform the Gender Recognition Act. We call for a balanced and measured dialogue in which we all work to ensure that the voices, needs and experiences of trans people can be respectfully listened to.”

Due to the Prime Minister’s broken promise on protecting trans people from the harms of Conversion Therapy, we regret that we are withdrawing Stonewall’s support for the UK Government’s Safe To Be Me conference. We will only be able to participate if the Prime Minister reverts to his promise for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.

This is a decision we take with a heavy heart. As the UK’s first global LGBT+ conference, Safe To Be Me should be a moment for redoubling efforts globally to improve LGBTQ+ people’s rights and experiences. This is why we have worked hard with government and civil society organisations over the last few months to try to make the conference work.

However, last week’s leaked plans, which revealed Number 10 planned to scrap the conversion therapy ban, have left us with no choice but to withdraw our support. That the Prime Minister would so casually walk away from four years of promises to the LGBTQ+ community is appalling, and we cannot in good conscience back Safe To Be Me at a time when our community’s trust in the UK Government is shattered.

We recognise that in response to outrage from the LGBTQ+ community and our allies, the Prime Minister’s position has shifted. He now proposes a partial ban, one that protects lesbian, gay and bi cis people, but leaves trans people, including trans children, at continued risk of abuse. This is out of step with every other nation that has recently introduced a ban on conversion therapy, and ignores all credible international research that is available, including the position of the UN Independent Expert.

It is apparent that trans people have once again been sacrificed for political gain. Commissioning a separate body of work to unpick something that has already been resolved many times the world over, can only be read as an attempt to kick the issue of protecting trans people into the long grass. This is callous and unacceptable.

Conversion therapy is happening to LGBTQ+ people in the UK right now, and every day without a ban is a day where LGBTQ+ people remain at risk of lifelong harm. Trans people are amongst the highest risk groups in our community - the latest research from Galop shows that 11% of trans people have been subjected to conversion practices by their own families.

Trans people are no less worth of respect, care and protection than cis lesbian, gay and bi people. If the UK Government cannot stand behind and respect all LGBTQ+ people’s fundamental human rights, it should not be convening an LGBTQ+ rights conference on the global stage.

Stonewall remains a civil society co-chair of the Equal Rights Coalition, and we continue to engage with ERC processes and events. This includes the upcoming ERC conference, which is separate from the UK government’s ‘Safe to be Me’ event, and which we will continue to be a part of. Our commitment to this mechanism, and to progressing global LGBTQI+ rights, remains unchanged.

Today, Jake Daniels of Blackpool FC took the brave decision to come out as the first openly gay footballer to play in the English Football League in nearly 30 years.

English football is ready for this moment. And we believe it has been ready for some time. Societal attitudes and understanding towards LGBTQ+ people have improved immeasurably in the past few decades, and we can now all take pride in living in a country where the majority of people share our vision of a world where everyone is free to be ourselves.

Today’s news is an opportunity for everyone involved in football – from the players to the fans in the stands – to support Jake and show that football is everybody’s game.

As members of TeamPride, we are proud to support Jake as he embarks on what we are sure will be an exciting career - and we are delighted that he will be able to do so as his true self.

Signed by:

• Adidas
• Barclays
• Premier League
• Sky Sports
• TikTok
• Unilever
• Voltarol

Liz Ward, Director of Programmes at Stonewall (she/her) said: ‘We are proud that Jake has felt able to share his truth with the world. To come out publicly as the UK’s first openly gay professional footballer in nearly 30 years takes incredible courage, and we’re heartened by the solidarity and support he has received from Blackpool FC and his teammates.

‘Football is ready for this moment, and we believe it has been for some time. Our Rainbow Laces campaign has taught us that, while there is still a way to go, attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in sport are changing. We are moving towards a world where players can live openly as their true selves, both on and off pitch - and that is something we can all take pride in.

‘Stonewall is proud to provide ongoing support to Jake, his close network and Blackpool FC to navigate the challenges of coming out in the public eye. This is an opportunity for everyone involved in football – from the players to the fans in the stands – to support Jake and show that football is everybody’s game.'

Visit our Rainbow Laces Hub.

At Stonewall, we stand for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere. We imagine a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be ourselves and can live our lives to the full.

Over the last 32 years, we have helped create transformative change in the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the UK. Today, we have equal rights to love, marry and have children, and our lives, families and relationships are represented as part of the national curriculum in most of the UK.

As a human rights charity, our campaigns drive positive change in public attitudes and public policy. Some of our current campaigns are:

• Ban Conversion Therapy: We are calling for a legally enforceable ban on conversion therapy across the UK, with support for survivors and training for frontline professionals.
• Support Rainbow Families: Tackle the inequities facing LGBTQ+ people trying to form a family of their own, particularly through IVF.
• Protection for LGBTQ+ Afghans and fairer outcomes for LGBTQ+ refugees here in the UK.
• Rainbow Laces: Making sport everyone’s game and challenging attitudes towards LGBTQ+ inclusion across sport.
• Inclusive legal recognition: Ensuring our lives and relationships are recognised in the law and official documentation, whether that’s our relationships, as parents, or our gender.

We also ensure LGBTQ+ people can thrive throughout our lives by building deep, sustained change programmes with the institutions that have the biggest impact on us, whether we’re learning, working, praying or playing sport. We deliver this through a number of programmes, including our School and College Champions programme, our Children and Young People’s Services programme, our Sport programmes, and our Diversity Champions programme.

Set up in 2001 to give practical support to employers who wanted to make their workplaces more inclusive, the Diversity Champions programme now counts more than 900 leading employers as members.

Over the last few months there has been some incorrect information in the press about Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme and so we wanted to answer any questions that might have raised.

What does Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme do?

What do organisations get for their Diversity Champions fee?

The fee for Stonewall Diversity Champions programme covers the following services:

• Trained Client Account Managers who provide tailored support and guidance to members (including facilitated introductions to other organisations, catch-up calls, good practice sharing, policy reviews and feedback meetings).
• A suite of resources which are researched and developed by Stonewall staff for Diversity Champion members to use.
• An online memberships hub located on the Stonewall website which allows Diversity Champion members to easily access resources.
• Delivering two-hour feedback meetings to members who have taken part in the Workplace Equality Index (which is run separately to the Diversity Champions programme).
• The fee covers staffing costs to provide these services and organisational running costs.

Are organisations required to take any particular action as a Diversity Champion?

No.

Individual Diversity Champions receive support, guidance, resources and feedback from Stonewall and it's up to them to decide if and how they use our input to shape their own policies, culture and practice.

A huge range of organisations make up the 900+ members of the Diversity Champions programme. Each of them knows their context best and how to use Stonewall's guidance and support to make their workplace more LGBTQ+ inclusive.

What is the Workplace Equality Index?

It is the definitive benchmarking tool for employers to measure their progress on lesbian, gay, bi and trans inclusion in the workplace.

Any employer can take part in the Workplace Equality Index for free, not just members of the Diversity Champions programme. The Workplace Equality Index is separate from the Diversity Champions programme.

Participating employers demonstrate their work in eight areas of employment policy and practice:

• Policies and benefits
• The employee lifecycle
• LGBTQ+ employee network group
• Empowering individuals
• Leadership
• Monitoring
• Supply chains
• External engagement and service delivery

Staff from across the organisation also complete an anonymous survey about their experiences at work.

Organisations then receive their scores, enabling them to understand what’s going well, suggestions of where they could focus their efforts, and how they’ve performed in comparison with their sector and region.

It is up to individual Diversity Champion members to decide whether they want to take part in the Workplace Equality Index, which is separate from their Diversity Champions membership. Diversity Champion members are, however, entitled to an in-depth benchmarking meeting to review areas for improvement.

How is Stonewall addressing common misrepresentations of the Diversity Champions programme?

We are incredibly proud of our Diversity Champions programme, and the work that member organisations, past and present, are doing to make their workplaces inclusive for their LGBTQ+ employees, using the resources, guidance and support provided by Stonewall.

Several media outlets regularly target the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme and its members to generate news stories, often misrepresenting the programme and the actions of members.

We respond to every media enquiry about the Diversity Champions programme to set out how proud we are of the work members do and correct any misinformation about the programme that we believe may be included in the coverage.

We also challenge common misrepresentations in this statement.

Unfortunately we find that some media outlets are content to publish stories that repeat misrepresentations of Stonewall’s work and what the Diversity Champions programme is, and use only part of Stonewall’s media statements at the end of articles. We make complaints and ask for corrections where appropriate.

Guidance and support

Is Stonewall’s guidance and support on the Equality Act correct?

Yes it is.

Our guidance is based on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Equality Act Code of Practice, which was recently reaffirmed in the High Court.

Quality assurance is very important to Stonewall. We regularly review our guidance to ensure that it is of the highest quality and reflects legal developments. Recently, we obtained a thorough independent legal review of Stonewall's guidance to employers and education settings as it relates to the Equality Act, EHRC codes of practice and guidance as well as the law in Northern Ireland. This independent legal review confirmed the quality and accuracy of our guidance.

Is Stonewall correct to use the term ‘gender identity’?

Yes.

There have been a small number of reports that suggest Stonewall is misinterpreting the Equality Act’s protected characteristic of ‘gender reassignment’ when we use the phrase ‘gender identity’ in our resources.

The accusation is that, because the Equality Act refers to ‘gender reassignment’ in the legislation, and Stonewall sometimes uses the phrase ‘gender identity’, Stonewall is misinterpreting the law and offering ‘illegal advice’.

When our resources and guidance refer to the wording of the Equality Act we reflect the wording as it appears: ‘gender reassignment’.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission refers to ‘gender identity’ when explaining who is covered by the law and how they are protected. It is normal to use everyday words to describe the law, as everyday language tends to develop along with societal progress, and legal language often remains static. In most contexts, gender identity is an appropriate, inclusive, and well-understood term, which is why we talk about gender identity in our everyday communications.

Finally, it is important to note that Stonewall does not offer legal advice; we offer inclusion support and guidance to support employers.

What does the Equality Act actually say about ‘gender reassignment’?

Gender reassignment is one of the nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010. Under section 7(1) of the EA 2010, a person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if that person is:

“proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.”

The Equality Act protects against four main types of conduct: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. It protects people at work, when using public services, with providers of goods and services, on public transport, in clubs and associations, and when you interact with public bodies. It also requires public bodies to consider how their decisions and policies will impact those with protected characteristics (the Public Sector Equality Duty).

The Equality Act 2010 defines gender reassignment as follows:

1) A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.

2) A reference to a transsexual person is a reference to a person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

3) In relation to the protected characteristic of gender reassignment—

a) a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a transsexual person;

b) a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to transsexual persons.

In summary, the Equality Act 2010 states that you should not be discriminated against because you are transsexual (trans), meaning that you should not be discriminated against because your gender identity is different from your gender assigned at birth. You are also protected if you are discriminated against because you are perceived to be trans (discrimination by perception), or because you are connected to someone trans (discrimination by association).

The Equality Act gives an expansive definition of ‘gender reassignment’: it does not require medical and/or surgical interventions, and the protections begin as soon as you ‘propose’ to move away from your birth-assigned gender, regardless of the steps you have taken or are planning to take as part of your transition.

As noted in the EHRC’s Statutory Code of Practice and the EHRC's Employer Code, a broad non-medical definition is particularly important to protect gender-variant children who may be too young to access medical interventions should they want to pursue medical transition but who have “begun a personal process of changing their gender identity” (2.21).

The recent Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover employment tribunal judgment provides an example of judicial interpretation of the Equality Act that includes non-binary, gender fluid, and gender diverse people, as noted in the judges’ conclusions:

“We thought it was very clear that Parliament intended gender reassignment to be a spectrum moving away from birth sex, and that a person could be at any point on that spectrum.” (p.178)

People who have a diagnosis of ‘gender dysphoria’ or ‘gender identity disorder’ (also known as ‘gender incongruence’), and those who have a Gender Recognition Certificate are protected under the act, but neither of these are required to have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

Does Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index require organisations to remove the word ‘mother’ from HR policies?

It is absolutely not true that Stonewall wishes to ban the word ‘mother’ from HR policies, as has been asserted in repeated stories from a small number of news outlets.

The word ‘mother’ is precious for LGBTQ+ people who have fought for years to be able to form families of our own and be recognised as mums, as dads, and as parents.

Our starting point is that we want to see workplaces that are inclusive for LGBTQ+ people. We give guidance and support to employers to ensure HR policies clearly apply to all in our communities. For some employees – such as same-sex couples which may include two mothers, two fathers, or non-binary people – the language used in HR policies has a practical importance in showing precisely who is covered by the policy. It is about avoiding confusion and ensuring everyone who needs the policy knows they are included.

When we review Diversity Champions’ policies we provide feedback on how to make it as clear as possible that LGBTQ+ people are covered by the policies. There are several ways employers can make it clear that all LGBTQ+ parents are included. For example, a parental leave policy could use additive language (‘this applies to birth mothers and other birth parents’), it could use gender neutral language (‘all birth parents’) or it could use you language ('after you have given birth’).

It is of course up to individual employers to decide how they ensure that all LGBTQ+ people are included by their policies.

All of this is to foster understanding and support for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace. We do not want to ban the word mother or stop it appearing in any employers’ policies.

Does Stonewall see a conflict between employers’ obligations to protect LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination and the recognition of ‘gender critical’ beliefs as protected philosophical beliefs under the Equality Act?

No.

In June, a ruling was handed down in a prominent appeal brought by a ‘gender critical’ activist. This ruling overturned the original decision of the employment tribunal judge. The new ruling has found that her views are protected as philosophical beliefs.

The substance of the judgment makes it clear that the protection is very narrow, clears a very low bar, and does not impact trans people’s protections under the Equality Act.

No philosophical belief gives someone the right to abuse, harm or discriminate against others, and this is upheld in the verdict. All trans people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and humanity in their workplaces.

Does Stonewall encourage organisations go above and beyond the letter of the law?

Yes, and proudly. Equalities legislation rightly protects people from discrimination, abuse and harassment, but complying with the law is the minimum rather than the maximum that employers can do to support LGBTQ+ people to thrive in the workplace.

Employers are constantly driving forward practices to ensure all their employees are supported to perform their best at work. No organisation is legally required to do LGBTQ+ pay gap analysis, provide leadership training for LGBTQ+ employees, support employee resource groups, or provide mentoring opportunities. But they do because they see the benefits. Diversity Champions get to share and learn about good practice from the 900+ members of the programme.

How does the EHRC’s new guidance on single-sex spaces affect your guidance for Diversity Champions?

On 11 April 2022, the EHRC published non-statutory guidance for organisations about single-sex services. 

Far from clarifying how the single-sex exemptions in the Equality Act should be used, this non-statutory guidance is likely to create more confusion for schools, workplaces and service providers. 

However, it’s important to note that as this is non-statutory guidance, it doesn’t change the existing law or statutory guidance, which organisations must adhere to. 

The Equality Act 2010 protects trans people from discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment. A person has this characteristic if the person is “proposing to undergo, undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purposes of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex”. 

The Act also protects people from discrimination on the ground of sex. The act says that a reference to someone with this protected characteristic is “a reference to a man or a woman”. There is no reference in the Act to the term ‘biological sex’. 

There is a legal exemption in Schedules 3 and 23 of the Act which means that providers of single-sex services can in some circumstances legally exclude trans people where this is a ‘proportionate means to achieve a legitimate end’.  

This is a highly fact-sensitive standard in a contested area of law, and there is little case law which establishes where an organisation could legitimately use this provision.  

Save where an exemption applies, organisations should not prevent access to services on the basis of someone’s gender reassignment. 

Our guidance for all organisations remains unchanged. We give the following good practice guidance to employers: 

“There is a legal exemption in Schedules 3 and 23 of the Equality Act 2010, which means that providers of single-sex services can in some circumstances legally exclude trans people where this is a ‘proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim’. This is a highly fact-sensitive standard in a contested area of law, and there is little case law which establishes where an organisation could legitimately use this provision. There is also a potential tension between the requirement not to discriminate on the basis of gender reassignment under the Equality Act 2010, and the requirement in health and safety law that employers provide toilets and changing rooms either on a single-sex basis or in individual lockable rooms. Save where an exception (as outlined above) applies, you should not prevent access to facilities, spaces and groups on the basis of a person’s gender reassignment.” 

The most inclusive employers support all employees in accessing the facilities, spaces and groups that align with their lived gender.

What does the Forstater Employment Tribunal judgement mean for workplace protections for trans people?

The outcome of the Employment Tribunal judgement in the Forstater vs CGD (6 July 2022) (“Forstater”) case does not change the reality of trans people's workplace protection.

Forstater was an Employment Tribunal case which found that the appellant had been directly discriminated against when CGD, the nonprofit thinktank she worked for, decided not to offer her an employment contract or to renew her visiting fellowship due to Tweets she had made and views she had expressed to colleagues about her ‘gender critical’ beliefs (which had been established as ‘protected philosophical beliefs’ by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a previous hearing).

While the Tribunal ultimately upheld the Claimant’s direct discrimination claims, the Tribunal clarified that:

‘The exercise of determining the issues before this Tribunal does not in any way involve an assessment of the merits of gender-critical belief.’ [para 8] 

The case did not make a judgement about whether the manifestation of the Claimant’s beliefs was directly or indirectly discriminatory or harassing of trans people in the workplace.

Nobody has the right to discriminate against, or harass, trans people simply because they disagree with their existence and participation in society.

This is based on Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees all individuals an absolute right to hold or change a particular religion or belief. It also says that people have a ‘qualified’ right to manifest that religion or belief, for example in how they act or behave as an expression of that religion or belief. This means the right to express or act on that belief can be limited where it is necessary to protect public safety and the rights and freedoms of others.

In Forstater, the Tribunal had to consider whether the actions taken by CGD were because the Claimant held ‘gender critical beliefs’, or whether it was because she had manifested those beliefs in a way to which objection could justifiably be taken. 

In the circumstances, the Tribunal found that while she had expressed her gender critical beliefs, that did not constitute manifestation of those beliefs in a manner to which objection could justifiably be taken. That was a significant part of the reason why her claim succeeded; had she been manifesting those beliefs in a way which was more objectionable, then the outcome would likely have been different.

Clearly then, while an employee or worker is entitled to hold gender critical beliefs (and has the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of those beliefs), this judgment does not mean they are entitled to manifest those beliefs in any way they like, and not in a way that would discriminate against another individual who has a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (the “Equality Act”).

How do ‘protected philosophical beliefs’ interact with discrimination and harassment protections for people with other ‘protected characteristics’?

The Equality Act sets out a wide range of protections from discrimination and harassment for people who hold certain ‘protected characteristics’. These are: age; disability; gender reassignment; being married or in a civil partnership; being pregnant or on maternity leave; race including colour; nationality, ethnic or national origin; religion or belief or lack thereof; sex; and sexual orientation.

The protected characteristic of religion or belief (or lack thereof) includes ‘philosophical beliefs’. Case law has established a number of philosophical beliefs as protected, based on five criteria (known as “the Grainger criteria”) established in the 2010 Grainger vs Nicholson case. For example, stoicism, Scientology, ethical veganism and a belief in the need for radical action on climate change have all met the five criteria set out in Grainger in successive cases. It is important to stress that in upholding a particular belief as being protected under the Equality Act, a Tribunal is not in any way expressing agreement with that belief.

The Equality Act protects people from discrimination or harassment on the basis of them holding these beliefs or not holding these beliefs. But people are not entitled to manifest these beliefs at work in a way that is directly or indirectly discriminatory or harassing to other people on the basis of their protected characteristics, for example their gender reassignment status.

This important point was made clear in the earlier Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment in the Forstater case on 10 June 2021, which concluded that ‘gender critical’ beliefs met the Grainger criteria. Quoting the Summary of Employment Appeal Tribunal judgement:

a) ‘This judgment does not mean that the EAT has expressed any view on the merits of either side of the transgender debate and nothing in it should be regarded as so doing.

b) This judgment does not mean that those with gender-critical beliefs can ‘misgender’ trans persons with impunity. The Claimant, like everyone else, will continue to be subject to the prohibitions on discrimination and harassment that apply to everyone else. Whether or not conduct in a given situation does amount to harassment or discrimination within the meaning of EqA will be for a tribunal to determine in a given case.

c) This judgment does not mean that trans persons do not have the protections against discrimination and harassment conferred by the EqA. They do. Although the protected characteristic of gender reassignment under s.7, EqA would be likely to apply only to a proportion of trans persons, there are other protected characteristics that could potentially be relied upon in the face of such conduct.’

d) This judgment does not mean that employers and service providers will not be able to provide a safe environment for trans persons. Employers would continue to be liable (subject to any defence under s.109(4), EqA) for acts of harassment and discrimination against trans persons committed in the course of employment.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment in another case, Mackereth vs the Department for Work and Pensions (1 July 2022), further demonstrates how people cannot use ‘gender critical beliefs’ as a justification to act however they please towards others with impunity.

In that case, a Christian doctor was not successful in claiming that his lack of belief in ‘Transgenderism’ or ‘gender fluidity’ led to him being directly discriminated against when he was informed that continued refusal to use trans people’s pronouns while carrying out his role would be treated as his services being withdrawn.

That is to say, while his lack of belief in ‘transgenderism’ or ‘gender fluidity’ was ultimately found to be a protected belief under the Equality Act, his employer was entitled to sanction him for the way in which he chose to manifest those beliefs. The Employment Appeal Tribunal therefore ruled that it was not discriminatory to sanction Dr Mackereth for misgendering trans service users on the basis that he did not personally believe that trans people existed or should participate in society.

Where can I get advice on an individual case in my organisation?

You should seek legal counsel.

Stonewall is proud to provide information, support and guidance on LGBTQ+ inclusion; working towards a world where we're all free to be. This does not constitute legal advice, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.

Membership of the Diversity Champions programme

Is Stonewall a political lobbying organisation?

Stonewall is a registered human rights charity and, like all national charities, is required to work in a balanced, non-partisan way to support its goals.

Stonewall operates in compliance with the Charity Commission's CC9 guidance on campaigning and political activity. This guidance helpfully sets out an example of the range of campaigning activity that a human rights charity could be expected to do in support of their purpose of promoting human rights.

It is perfectly normal for charities to campaign for legal protections and policies that improve the lives of the communities they serve.

Does working with Stonewall affect an organistion’s impartiality?

Working with national charities to support an LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace does not affect an organisation's impartiality on any issue.

The BBC’s decision not to renew their Diversity Champions membership was to address the ‘perception’ that the BBC was partial on public policy matters where Stonewall has a particular stance. The BBC clarified that:

“Being a part of the Diversity Champions Programme has never required the BBC to support the campaigns of Stonewall, nor its policy positions. As a broadcaster, we have our own values and editorial standards - these are clearly set out and published in our Editorial Guidelines. We are also governed by the Royal Charter and the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Our journalists continue, as ever, to report a full range of perspectives on stories.”

Following the decision, the BBC’s Director of Nations said on Women’s Hour: “We do not believe our relationship with Stonewall has compromised our journalism”.

Are public sector organisations allowed to be members?

Yes.

Public sector organisations include local authorities, health bodies, schools, colleges and government departments and agencies

There were reports in the press based on a ‘source close to [Liz] Truss’ sharing concerns about the programme’s value for money when the civil service has its own in-house workplace diversity programme.

On 2 June an Equalities Minister confirmed that “decisions on engaging with external service providers on diversity and inclusion are delegated to individual departments.”

Campaign groups and some press outlets have misrepresented these reports in template letters to public sector bodies as an ‘instruction’ to withdraw from Stonewall’s programmes.

In England, the Department for Education lists Stonewall’s inclusive education guidance as a key resource in Annex B of the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, teachers (page 46). There is no guidance advising against working with Stonewall.

Are organisations leaving the Diversity Champions programme in large numbers?

No. Overall, the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme is growing in membership. We are proud to support more than 900 employers to create an inclusive working environment through our Diversity Champions programme.

This year alone, from 1 November 2020 to 1 November 2021, more than 200 organisations have joined the Diversity Champions programme.

Recent news stories have highlighted high profile organisations leaving the programme, including the BBC. In our statement on the BBC’s decision we highlighted the wider context of campaigns to stop organisations working on LGBTQ+ inclusion for their colleagues.

There are plenty of leading organisations who have recently renewed their membership of the programme, and more joining every week.

As with every membership programme, organisations come and go depending on what works best for them at the time. Since we set up the Diversity Champions programme in 2001, many large employers have developed major internal programmes to promote diversity and inclusion across their staff and make the workplace better for LGBTQ+ people.

It is encouraging to see that despite the challenges of living and working through a global pandemic, so many more organisations are committed to ensuring that all of their lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer staff are supported.

Policy debates about LGBTQ+ equality

What are Stonewall’s campaign priorities?

We set out our Free to Be 2021 – 25 strategy in May 2021, setting out Stonewall’s priorities for the coming four years. Some of our current campaigns are:

• Ban Conversion Therapy: We are calling for a legally enforceable ban on conversion therapy across the UK, with support for survivors and training for frontline professionals.
• Support Rainbow Families: We are campaigning to address the inequities facing LGBTQ+ people trying to form a family of their own, particularly through IVF.
• Protection for LGBTQ+ Afghans and fairer outcomes for LGBTQ+ refugees here in the UK.
• Rainbow Laces: Making sport everyone’s game and challenging attitudes towards LGBTQ+ inclusion across sport.
• Inclusive legal recognition: Ensuring our lives and relationships are recognised in the law and official documentation, whether that’s our relationships, as parents, or our gender.

Does Stonewall have a role to play in addressing divisions within the LGBTQ+ community?

Stonewall is a charity that advocates for LGBTQ+ people’s human rights, we campaign for better policies to support our communities, and we support organisations to make their schools, workplaces and sport communities more inclusive for LGBTQ+ people.

Stonewall works as part of a movement of LGBTQ+ charities, community groups and activists with different specialisms, to make sure that our campaigning priorities align with the broad priorities of the movement.

There have always been differences of opinion and different perspectives about what the priorities of the LGBTQ+ movement should be. For example, there were different opinions in the community about whether we should pursue same-sex marriage. However, we see a sector that is almost exclusively united behind a trans inclusive approach to supporting and championing our communities.

Does Stonewall engage in debate on policy issues?

Yes! All the time. Debate about the best way to achieve change for LGBTQ+ communities is a core part of our work. The staff in our External Affairs team spend much of their time engaged in discussions with policymakers, campaigners and the media on how best to improve policy, practice and support for LGBTQ+ people in the UK and across the world.

The only thing we won’t debate is whether LGBTQ+ people actually exist or deserve respect.

Is Stonewall campaigning to amend the Equality Act?

No, we are not campaigning to amend the Equality Act.

When the Equality Act was introduced, we had concerns about the terminology used in the Act, whether the Act sufficiently covered all trans people, and if Equality Act exemptions could be used as a blanket ban to exclude trans people from a wide range of settings.

However, in practice, the Equality Act appears to be working well. We see organisations from across society supporting trans inclusion throughout their work.

The environment for organisations supporting LGBTQ+ rights

What do organisations supporting LGBTQ+ rights experience?

Supporters of LGBTQ+ equality have been facing attack for a number of years for taking a trans-inclusive approach to fighting for equality.

These have come from campaign groups, online activists and sections of the UK media. These attacks are designed to undermine organisations’ confidence in supporting LGBTQ+ equality in their work.

A few groups have launched legal challenges to public sector organisations regarding their work with Stonewall. Many of these cases have already been thrown out by judges as ‘unarguable’.

In the first four months of 2021 there were more than 900 template Freedom of Information requests sent to public sector bodies about their work with Stonewall.

Media organisations are using these Freedom of Information Requests to generate news stories about public sector organisations not renewing their membership. The same news outlets repeat those news stories over and over.

A number of campaign groups are currently encouraging their supporters to send template letters out to members of our Diversity Champions programme, schools across the country, and threatening other public sector bodies with legal action.

What can organisations do if they face attacks for their work on LGBTQ+ rights?

Unfortunately we are seeing coordinated attacks on organisations who support LGBTQ+ inclusion whether or not they are members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme.

These attacks are designed to undermine your confidence in supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion, whether in the workplace or in your wider work.

Start by getting the facts straight. Is there a basis to the complaints or concerns? Use this FAQ as a support and check in with your teams who lead your work on LGBTQ+ inclusion, who know the status of this work and its legal basis.

Make sure your colleagues who run social media and press office for the organisation have the support they need if they are experiencing hostility, particularly if they are LGBTQ+.

Be proud of your work to support LGBTQ+ inclusion. Opponents of LGBTQ+ rights want you to be ashamed. Stand tall and be bold. Look out for more actions you can take to celebrate and support LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace in the months ahead.

On 22 July 2022 we put out a tweet that was unclear, relating to gender stereotypes and nursery age children, leading some supporters to ask us what we meant.

We were commenting on an article written by a parent reflecting on how their child was being cared for at nursery. The parent was worried that their child was being pressured to fit in with stereotypes about boys and girls. We believe that young children should be able to play, explore and learn about who they are, and the world around them, without having adults’ ideas imposed upon them.

We support existing provisions to ensure  pupils in all education settings  learn about LGBTQ+ identities in an age-appropriate and timely manner. Primary schools in Scotland and Wales are required to provide LGBTQ+ inclusive approach to relationships and sex education, and primary schools in England are encouraged to do so.

This is vital for making sure that today’s children do not grow up living with the stigma of being LGBTQ+. For younger children, this simply means ensuring children grow up understanding that LGBTQ+ people exist and that we are valid. It means learning that some families have two mums or two dads, and that some people are trans and non-binary.

It might mean not forcing children to conform to stereotypes, and it might mean challenging bullying that relates to perceived difference.

What research were you referring to?

The tweet was paraphrasing research mentioned in the article. But studies of trans adults that ask about when they first experienced gender dysphoria find that a significant number have their first memory of this feeling aged between 2 and 4.

Do you think that children as young as two can identify they are trans?

What this should have expressed is that many adult trans people can remember feeling that they might be trans at a young age.

Do you think that young children should be taught about trans identities at a young age?

For younger children, this means ensuring children grow up understanding that LGBTQ+ people exist and that we are valid. It means learning that some families have two mums or two dads, and that some people are trans and non-binary. It might mean not forcing children to conform to stereotypes, and it might mean challenging bullying that relates to perceived difference.

Stonewall is pleased to announce that Iain Anderson has been appointed Chair of Trustees.

Iain is Executive Chairman of H/Advisors Cicero and former Government LGBTQ+ Business Champion, with a thirty-year career as a political strategy and communications adviser and former journalist. Iain is appointed alongside two new trustees, Sadiq Gillani and Tabz O’Brien.

This comes as Sheldon Mills prepares to stand down as Chair of Trustees after serving the maximum of three successive three-year terms as a trustee at Stonewall.

Tabz brings more than two decades of experience in charity governance and local government, and Sadiq brings more than two decades experience of corporate governance and leadership, largely in the aviation industry.

You can read the full profiles of all Stonewall trustees here.

Iain Anderson (he/him) said: “I am honoured to be joining Stonewall as Chair of Trustees. Stonewall is the leading LGBTQ+ charity in the UK, and has had a huge positive impact on the lives millions of people across the world. Next year will see the 20th anniversary of the scrapping of Section 28 in England and Wales, a moment which Stonewall played a decisive role in bringing about.

I am proud to see a country where LGBTQ+ people are now celebrated and supported across our communities, and Stonewall can be proud of its enormous contribution to achieving and sustaining that transformation. But we cannot take this progress for granted. We see rising hatred and intolerance against LGBTQ+ people worldwide and too many LGBTQ+ people struggle to get the services they need and the opportunities to thrive.

I look forward to working with the Stonewall team to build alliances and extend conversations with those who care about universal human rights and progressive values, and to inspire and mobilise leaders from all parts of society to unleash opportunity for LGBTQ+ people everywhere.”

Sheldon Mills (he/him) said: “Huge congratulations to Iain on his appointment as Chair of Stonewall, a vital role in supporting Stonewall to achieve its strategy.

Whether it’s same-sex marriage passing, getting LGBTQ+ inclusion on the national curriculum, inclusive workplaces, developing our global work, or becoming a trans-inclusive organisation, I’m so proud of the impact Stonewall has had on LGBTQ+ people’s lives during my nine years as a trustee.

I want to thank Stonewall staff and trustees, past and present, for their tireless commitment to the freedom, equity and potential of LGBTQ+ people.”

Nancy Kelley (she/her), Chief Executive of Stonewall said:  “Stonewall benefits enormously from the skill, passion and commitment of all our trustees, and we are delighted to have Iain, Tabz and Sadiq join the board.

Sheldon has generously given nine years of vision, wit, challenge and love to the Stonewall family, for which we are all enormously grateful. The whole team is looking forward to welcoming Iain as our new Chair and delivering our ambitious strategy with his support.

Our vision is of a world where all lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people are free to live our lives to the full, and the work of inspirational Chairs like Sheldon and Iain is at the heart of moving us all closer to that goal.”

As the Conservative Party enters a leadership election, Stonewall is calling on all candidates, their supporters and the media to ditch the divisive ‘culture war’ and promote values that bring Britain’s diverse communities together. 

Britain takes pride in being a tolerant family of nations. Just two thirds of Britons are exclusively straight, three quarters of us are closely connected to a lesbian, gay or bi person, and 1 in 4 of us know a trans person. 

LGBTQ+ people and our close friends and family members come from every part of society, and we live in every part of Britain.  

Now is the time for inclusive values and policies that bring communities together and unleash the potential of all. 

Ban conversion practices for everyone, remove the barriers to us to forming families, challenge rising hate, improve legal recognition for all LGBTQ+ people and our relationships, and champion LGBTQ+ rights on the global stage.  

A more inclusive Britain is good for communities and businesses across the country, and important for Britain’s position as a global leader.