A consultation guide for feminist and LGBTQ+ academics and allies circulated at my workplace

Oh, lordy.

Complete the consultation giving your own views. The FairPlayForWomen site has an already completed form if going through the actual thing is too arduous. Do not let other people tell you what you think! We're not living in a Stalinist state yet.

Big Lottery has given £1/3m to trans projects since 2015.

BBC Children in Need currently gives £1/2m to trans, and another £1m to LGBT which is disproportionately channeled to trans.

I would check your institutions IT policy for email use. Mine says that email is provided for academic, career development and administrative purposes and unnecessary messages should not be sent.

Hence, I would question whether a mass emailing presuming a particular advocacy position and effectively lobbying colleagues on a political point is appropriate.

I do not think you need give your own position on this, but the parallel with advising colleagues what to vote is apt.

Why do these people never mention the sizeable grants received by trans organisations from the Government, lottery etc? Stonewall received £871,806 last year. Mermaids received £46,386. What the various women's groups have raised is small in comparison, and all has come from ordinary people, not big grants from public and private bodies.

Your employer has a legal duty to foster good relations between groups that have a protected characteristic.I would point out that they are doing precisely the opposite.

But they are right that the law uses the terms sex and gender interchangeably and doesn't define them. I think that's because both are taken to mean sex. The judge in the case about non binary on passports made the point that the law should at some point deal with the fact that the two are not the same but hadn't done so yet.

No, sex is one of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act along with gender reassignment not gender on it's own.

good work Beesneeze82!

I would reply saying that’s terrible here are some reputable grassroots women’s rights groups funded by crowdfunders and run by volunteers, and put links to WPUK and FPFW, read them instead of any of those other groups.

Will you let us know how you get on, OP?

I've checked my university email just and we don't have anything but I could see it happening.

Thanks for standing up for us.

When Brexit was happening, for example, we were told that the University wouldn't be taking a position and that we wouldn't receive any material from any official University group/organisation/channel so that there would be no hint of influencing/biasing people's personal perspectives and votes.

I actually know that someone got into quite a bit of trouble for sending a "please vote remain" email to a few colleagues.

I think this is exactly the same type of situation - your employer shouldn't take a position and shouldn't be sending official information.

As I said, I would question why the LGBTQ group has your email if you're not a member...

I mean, literally reply all with the Fair Play link and say - 'more help here for those filling in the consultation' .

You need to take it up with HR if it's official and from your employer, or reply all with the Fair Play or Woman's Place link.

I wouldn't necessarily frame it as "why isn't the other side represented too?"

I think that positions you as hysterical TERF (which is fine by me but you know!)

I think it's rather about why one group is able to send their perspective through official university channels.

I would potentially take the focus away from the actual issue (the GRA) and more towards the use of official email lists (how did the LGBTQ people get your email if you're not a member of their group?) to promote one perspective of a nuanced/complex issue.

If that makes any sense.

what Knicknackpaddyflak said

Can you take it up with HR? I really don’t think that’s appropriate in the workplace. Imagine if someone emailed all their employees and instructed them to vote Tory If you’re not comfortable raising it with HR perhaps contact your MP (depending on what they’re like) or contact Baroness Winterbourne who should be up to speed after the HoL meeting. Other than that, the press might be an option, putting pressure on employees is not acceptable in a democracy.

Definite yes to sharing this with the people for tomorrow's HoC meeting. This is an appalling failure of professional conduct, the subject matter is irrelevant. It's become somehow ok for everyone including the police to abandon normal standards and get highly politically partisan if it's a matter regarding 'trans'. It's not ok.

Don't put your head above the parapet if you think it might expose you to risk.

Oh and great idea from Floisme to forward the info. to FPFW or A Woman's Place, or a GC journalist or two.

Given how heavily this agenda has been promoted and advanced through LGBT networks UK-wide, whilst the wider public is kept in the dark, this smacks a bit of desperation.

On reflection, I would be quietly contacting a manager and saying 'er - this could be construed as the organisation pressuring people to use their vote in a particular way, which is so unethical its ridiculous, this leaves us wide open - also that there's no evidence to back up claims that could be regarded as libellous? Shouldn't we be pulling this fast and checking it out (due diligence etc) as a fairly major risk?'