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Original poster

The Women and Equalities Office has been replaced by the Government Equalities Office (with a focus on gender and LGBT rights, women not mentioned)

31 replies

AnotherAdultHumanFemale · 13/08/2019 01:57

I've just seen this on Spinster. The government's Women and Equalities office no longer exists, and instead they have created The Government Equalities Office. In their twitter bio it states 'We are the UK Government Equalities Office, responsible for gender and LGBT equality.' They have also got a rainbow coloured logo.

This is really stressful. What have LGBT rights got to do with women's sex based oppression, the reason for the office in the first place? At the moment those two things are in direct opposition to each other. Who is going to protect women's rights now, if the office set up to do that has been dismantled?

twitter.com/GEOgovuk

OP posts:
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ThePurported · 13/08/2019 19:16

This report contains a summary of the history of GEO:
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/356/35604.htm

ThePurported · 13/08/2019 19:12

I don't think a department that is meant to be protecting women should also have a remit for anything to do with LGBT, because right now those two groups want completely different things.

Exactly this. It's unclear whether the GEO even has a "women's unit" as such - does anyone know?

Government Equalities Office: Staff:Written question - 262297

Asked by Dawn Butler (Brent Central)
Asked on: 10 June 2019
Women and Equalities
Government Equalities Office: Staff
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will publish the number of staff employed by the Government Equalities Office by (a) grade and (b) policy areas those staff are assigned to.

Answered by: Victoria Atkins
Answered on: 25 July 2019

As at 14 June 2019, GEO has 110 staff in post (107 FTE).

GEO staff work on a range of priority areas, including work to empower all women to reach their full potential, advancing equality for LGBT people, ensuring our laws protect equality and provide equal rights and driving forward work to put qualities at the heart of government.

31RueCambon · 13/08/2019 19:10

Depressing

PencilsInSpace · 13/08/2019 19:08

I don't think anything much has changed. I saw something about it on Twitter. From what I can gather, the women & equalities committee had two twitter accounts and deleted one of them which was hardly used.

ThePurported · 13/08/2019 18:56

Yes there is, but the problem is that the top role is Minister for Women and Equalities. It should be split between two ministers, and the GEO should be reorganised accordingly.

Original poster
AnotherAdultHumanFemale · 13/08/2019 18:54

Hi everyone looks like there's some confusion regarding this.

From what I can gather it looks like their twitter handle used to have the word 'women' in the title but from what you are saying the office itself has been known as the GEO for a while. The person on spinster said it was a new office so I was going from that information. I have no idea if it used to also be for LGBT and trans people or if the is a new development.

In fairness nearly all of the recent tweets on the geo account linked to in the OP are about, and explicitly mention, women.

Yes, but how are they defining the word 'woman?' If they are using the word gender, which they are, we know that doesn't mean women as a biological sex, it means anyone who 'identifies' as a woman ie men.

I don't think a department that is meant to be protecting women should also have a remit for anything to do with LGBT, because right now those two groups want completely different things. It's a bit like setting up an office for vegans and dairy farmers, or clean air campaigners and bonfire enthusiasts.

It's obvious who will win out in this particular battle, since the TRAs just call anything to do with protecting women's rights 'transphobia' and say it's not 'inclusive' which frustratingly people are buying. I wish they would just create an office for women and women only, adult human females because there are so many big issues still facing us like pitifully low domestic violence and rape convictions as two examples on top of the massive attack on our sex based rights by the very people we are having to share an office with.

I'm really disappointed.

OP posts:
WhereAreWeNow · 13/08/2019 18:31

There is a dedicated Minister for Women.

Lumene · 13/08/2019 17:37

The ministerial portfolio needs to be split again so there's a dedicated Minister for Women who doesn't have to focus every decision on serving the needs of a specific group of men.

Yes this.

They do mention women dancing but unless they clarify that this does not include any man who fancies saying he’s a woman for whatever reason it’s a bit diluted.

Dancingbea · 13/08/2019 17:28

In fairness nearly all of the recent tweets on the geo account linked to in the OP are about, and explicitly mention, women.

IdaBWells · 13/08/2019 17:02

It’s so clear who women are dominated by and who now gets to define us.

SonicVersusGynaephobia · 13/08/2019 16:50

I'm amazed at the removal of the word women and the very deliberate addition of "gender" at a time when they (especially the Women & Equalities Select Committee) are now very aware of the problems that conflating sex and gender has caused women.

It seems like a deliberate slap in the face, or a very marked display of power.

Nappyvalley15 · 13/08/2019 16:25

Thanks for the clarification. Feels misleading that the government EQUALITIES office is only focused on equality for certain groups.

ThePurported · 13/08/2019 16:14

Why doesn't the GEO focus on all strands of the equality act 2010. Why only gender (which should be sex) and LGBT?

It leads policy work on women and LGBT, and coordinates with other government departments on other equalities.

It really needs to decide what it means by 'gender'. Sometimes it's sex, but mostly the GEO seems to understand it as 'gender identity'.
'Trans' apparently includes cross-dressers/transvestites (yes, the GEO uses that word). 'Women' includes 'transgender women' with or without a GRC, and the L in the LGBT includes males who identify as lesbians.
It's a mess. The Women & Equalities Committee recently recommended that the GEO "issue a clear statement of the law on single-sex services to all Departments". How are they going to do that, when their own interpretation of it is so incoherent?

WhereAreWeNow · 13/08/2019 15:32

There's still a minister for women (Atkins) as well as a minister for equalities (Williams) and a minister for women and equalities (Rudd).

I don't think anything at all has changed.

I'm not sure they ever did anything on other protected characteristics. For instance, disability sat within DWP but I think has just moved to cabinet office.

I don't get what people think has changed (other than crappy, woke civil servants endlessly prioritising trans issues and conflating sex and gender).

Nappyvalley15 · 13/08/2019 13:25

Why doesn't the GEO focus on all strands of the equality act 2010. Why only gender (which should be sex) and LGBT?

FormerMediocreMale · 13/08/2019 13:15
Sad
ThePurported · 13/08/2019 13:14

The GEO was the successor to the Women and Equality Unit.

There are some serious issues with the neutrality of the civil servants working there which is going to implode horribly at some point. Key civil servants there are basically TRAs and have been running the show in a way they really shouldn’t be.
It certainly looks that way. The GEO's definition of woman doesn't appear to be based on sex.
The ministerial portfolio needs to be split again so there's a dedicated Minister for Women who doesn't have to focus every decision on serving the needs of a specific group of men.

Sicario · 13/08/2019 13:10

The Minister for Women and Equalities has overall responsibility for:

  • policy on women
  • policy on sexual orientation and transgender equality cross-government equality strategy and legislation

Before July 2014, this role was covered by the Minister for Women and the Minister for Equalities.

Why women should be lumped in with sexual orientation and trans issues makes no sense to me. In fact, the two are mutually exclusive. Women's sex-based oppression, violence against women and girls, and women's suffrage, affects over 50% of the population: women.

Imnobody4 · 13/08/2019 10:48

Has it been updated when adding dinky little rainbow icons. Was this for
Pride. Will we get Suffragette colours at some point. They really have been infiltrated.

Imnobody4 · 13/08/2019 10:36

It's always been the GEO but I can't remember what the strap line was on the twitter account. I thought it said Women and Equalities not Gender and LBGT but I could be wrong.

Birdsfoottrefoil · 13/08/2019 10:18

So have they dropped disability, religion, race etc from equality legislation now?

Lumene · 13/08/2019 08:12

Wasn’t it always the GEO?

There are some serious issues with the neutrality of the civil servants working there which is going to implode horribly at some point. Key civil servants there are basically TRAs and have been running the show in a way they really shouldn’t be.

WhereAreWeNow · 13/08/2019 07:48

There was never a women and equalities office. It was always GEO. I don't get this.

MilletSentToForceIt · 13/08/2019 07:46

I was just coming on to post what Dancingbea has said.

Dancingbea · 13/08/2019 06:54

It was always the GEO. There is a women and equalities minister (Amber Rudd) and a women and equalities committee.

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