Does your Local Authority Equality Policy exclude sex as a protected characteristic?

[bananaistheanswer]

Inspired by Jean Hatchet's posts on twitter, I checked mine and colour me shocked, it's been excluded.

Attached below is the list from the EA2010 with my LA's interpretation alongside - note the wording We believe our responsibility for equality is wider than those areas covered by the Equality Act 2010

So removing sex from the list of protected characteristics widens the scope of the EA2010?

So what's your LA equality policy like?

@OrchidInTheSun Kent is way out of the order.
"Having a baby" is not the same as "pregnancy and maternity".

www.nalc.gov.uk/about/what-we-do

Does anyone understand the role of the national association of local councils. They provide some training (can't see what).

We also have a local county version who provide training to our parish council.

They conflate gender/sex on their Diversity Commission page www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/diversity-commission

What do you reckon to Ashford Borough Council?

It says, among all the usual suspects -

sex (previously referred to as gender)

I should say 'gender reassignment' is of course in the list.

Mixedherbs, I saw that. Wonder if it’s a recent change?

Would you please post screenshots to show Sarah Brown and Stonewall making this a deliberate act?

There is no doubt about what Stonewall are trying to do

A review of the Equality Act 2010 to include ‘gender identity’ rather than ‘gender reassignment’ as a protected characteristic and to remove exemptions, such as access to single-sex spaces

Full statement
www.stonewall.org.uk/women-and-equalities-select-committee-inquiry-transgender-equality

They also say
However, we do not agree with the Government’s analysis that ‘gender reassignment’ is an appropriate protected characteristic in the Equality Act. Stonewall believe that the Government has missed a significant opportunity to ensure that all trans and non-binary people are clearly protected under the Act. The current legislation only protects those undergoing or considering gender reassignment.

www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/media-statement/statement/stonewall-comments-governments-trans-inquiry

So they want to remove 'gender reassignment' which is protection for transsexuals, and prevents discrimination on the grounds of being transsexual, and change it to 'gender identity' which is something that according to the trans lobby, everyone has. They will then argue that this is the same as 'gender' (once they have changed 'sex' to 'gender').

They seem to be prepared to throw transsexuals under the bus as well as women, so that AGP men can get into women's spaces.

Taking this wider, the DWP mention gender and gender identity. No mention of sex
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/equality-and-diversity

Ditto the home office
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/about/equality-and-diversity

Expect this runs through all government departments.

I don't think it's a problem if they get multiple people contacting them about this - the more the merrier, imo.

Someone I follow on Twitter (NorthernJugni) has set up an editable spreadsheet that anyone can add to. She’s added all of the LA’s.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hxZ6n4ovGRtGD2Q85NIrRnpGmMbdgc3XDsezQojxLXg/htmlview

www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/diversity-commission
This needs to be added too

Newham seems to be correct

Maybe we could make a google drive document - with an excel spreadsheet

You could have something like -

Local authority - Sex/Gender---Action taken ----response

Any other ideas for useful categories?

We can share here and then people can add the information as they go along.

This way we can work together to see what other local authorities need to be contacted. Stops us duplicating work. Also, we could 'badger' non-compliant council's with further e-mails

We should write the the Eities people too

@KreigersClones

Newham has missed off
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;

@TimeLady yep, saw that after I posted. So wrong then. Initially I was just looking at whether it was sex or gender.

Ours is sex (although it does at one point imply sex is the same as gender but it uses 'sex' 99% of the time).

@quark - some bright spark has already had that idea of making a spreadsheet eh! Ignore my previous message,

Do you think it's worth starting a new thread to signpost people to that spreadsheet or will they see it on here?

Equalities people not whatever crap I wrote

Yes I do DJ

I can't seem to add to the spreadsheet. What am I doing wrong?

I don’t see a problem with duplication of emails. The more inconvenienced they are the more likely it is that councils will sit up and take notice.

If emailing the council I suggest copying in your MP

I would be pointing out that their grasp on the Equality Act seems shaky and that this is likely to mean that all their related policies regarding sex and gender reassignment should be reviewed.

Of particular importance is their treatment of single sex services; if they haven’t properly undertaken consultations with affected service users, equality impact assessments and thorough safeguarding with regards to allowing transgender individuals to “opt in” to single sex services then they are at risk of indirectly discriminating against women in breach of the Equality Act.

I consider failure to seriously contemplate adverse consequences of allowing transgender women into single sex services to be gross negligence.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3272580-Spreadsheet-of-local-authorities-that-record-sex-not-gender-lets-complete-it-together?watched=1

I started a new thread which signposts people to the spreadsheet which is collating a list of local authority compliance.

If anyone can provide a template for a message to send that would be fantastic

If anyone fancies giving it a bump...

OldCrone

twitter.com/FeministRoar/status/1005171544308506624