FFS. Flagged at work for gender critical views

[ThinkingQueSeraSera]

It's happening.

I'm new in a private sector company. My personal twitter doesn't mention my employer. I've apparently been flagged as 'high risk' for my gender critical views (linking to articles, carefully worded, no abusive language obviously) on my twitter feed. Boss is sympathetic but has told me to be very careful and to not ever mention at work.

We are being silenced for holding perfect legitimate pro-women views and concerns. I'm fuming and scared - both for my job and for women.

How did they link you to your work? That's really concerning.

Here for general handholding and shared awareness of the shirt hitting the fan. Or something like shirt, anyway. Also treading very warily at work. X

It’s very worrying indeed. I’d also like to know how it came up.

All employers review social media, especially in new recruits. It's part of the screening process.

My advice to anyone who has concerns over what is in the public domain is to be very careful what and how you word things, be as vague and anonymous as you u can and don't link to your location, place of work, children's school or any other local/personal organisation that you are involved in. Or at least set up a 2nd a/c for those things and keep this stuff well away from your personal information.

I can't really explain without risk of outing myself. It's both my own name and I had quite a big profile at a former company (unrelated) so people googled me when I started here.

I get that employers may review social media. But since when did a belief in biology and a desire to assert women’s rights make someone “high risk”

I hate that the smear campaign has been so successful that we are considered dangerous for wanting to be safe.

But plectrum we shouldnt have to. We aren't BNP members or part of a cult. We have legitimate concerns about a potential change in law and erosion of women's rights. How on earth can this be something I can be criticised for at work? I haven't once spoken about it at work!

It might be a bit late now, but you could tighten your privacy settings on social media to friends and family only, to stop your employer having access to your personal posts and opinions. Freedom of speech used to be a cherished core value in this country - it is terrifying to see what is happening now.

If it doesn’t affect your job, (and if you’ve never mentioned it, it hasn’t) it shouldn’t have been raised.

Just as worrying is the idea that it’s now considered so unacceptable that it might get in the way of finding employment as well.

I absolutely agree we shouldn't have to. But such is the toxic level of anyone getting embroiled in a SM storm with accusations of transphobia, most businesses are keen not to get dragged into anything like that. Your only have to see the response of most people when they're caught up in it to see how loaded and unfair it is, but few of us can risk our employment to take a stand. Off the top of my head, the QC Jo whatsisname completely 180'd after the pile on, the various venues who have been hounded by TRAs when meetings arranged. It's an onslaught few businesses have the appetite for & don't want to get involved, irrespective on how reasonable you are/how inaccurate the accusations of transphobia are.

I'm not saying this because I agree with them or think you have done anything wrong. The person who reviewed your SM postings might be of the view it's transphobic but it's just their interpretation - do you challenge it further in a new job or keep your head down because you need your job? That's the difficulty & why it's bloody unfair all round.

OP "We aren't BNP members or part of a cult"

speaking as a non-white, my first thought there is that the BNP are a legitimate party - I spent my whole childhood terrified of being sent "back" to a country I've never seen.

Gender critical views are now seen the same way as the BNP - not yet legally banned, but quite likely to be.

I am on social media under a fake name so my employer can't find me. In the past it was because expressing views about being childfree would cause issues; now it's about being gender critical or perceived as anti trans.

Sorry this is happening to you. I don't know what the answer is.

TRA and the manipulation of twitter needs to be investigated as a matter of urgency.

So the complaints came from people inside your new workplace? I suppose that's marginally better than having an external complaint from someone who has tracked down where you work, but only marginally.

My Facebook account has very little personal info (no schools, birthday etc) and high privacy settings. I did have my job on my twitter feed but have now deleted that and earlier this month I made my profile pic more anonymous. I deleted my Linkedin account last month after I became aware that if you typed in my name it came up on Google.
Your boss bringing you in like that is very creepy. Believing transwomen are men should not be a cause for concern just a sign the person can think for herself and believes in science not wishful thinking.

Most employers check staff social media – you now work for them and can reflect poorly on the company.

If you are negative in your posts no matter how ‘carefully worded’ they are, then people have a right to take offence - its the internet and you are putting things out there, of course someone will comment. Just make your twitter feed private.

i spent 4 years in the exec team of a large corporation and we routinely checked social media - admittedly mostly Facebook where people were daft enough to whinge about the business itself and have publicly accessible profiles. it's just what happens. rightly or wrongly!

You have been flagged as high risk for what exactly?
I don’t understand.

There’s a risk you offend a service user? Is that the problem.

I know you can’t say too much, just trying to understand what they think might happen?

I blame the feminists. If it wasn't for them, women wouldn't have to worry about this work mullarkey in the first place

There is a vast number of keyboard warriors with a lot of time and expertise. There are deliberate and orchestrated attacks on people, not just those in the public-eye.

pombal "I know you can’t say too much, just trying to understand what they think might happen?"

at worst, she could lose her job.

I've apparently been flagged as 'high risk'

'High risk' of what? Having a critical thought?

This is terrible. TBH, when hiring, I specifically don't stalk people on social media. I think that things I find there (eg. having children, dangerous hobbies, poor taste in music or whatever) could bias me, and I should be hiring based on that person's professional skills, not their love of beer or holidays in Hawaii. I'm not hiring anyone public facing, so perhaps that's a reason to check that I could justify to myself.

So sorry to hear this. All I can say is that as someone who does not depend on anyone else for my income, I am trying to get the message out there as much as I can.

Do please be aware that widely read & retweeted twitter accounts such as Shon Faye and Helen from Mermaids have been directing focus to MN a great deal recently...

Shon is always lurking on Mumsnet.