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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

The Financial Juggernaut that is Stonewall

100 replies

womanformallyknownaswoman · 24/01/2019 10:06

Extracts from the 2017 Financial Accounts of Stonewall:

2017 Total income £7.2m

Donations 1.7m
Grants 0.9m (total income from govt 0.65.million)
Sponsorship 0.4m
Events 0.8m
Fees 2.2m
Programs 0.5m

2017 Total expenditure £6.1m

fundraising 1m
campaigns/policy/research 2.5m
employment advice 1.6
empowerment programs 1m

2.3m Support costs ( £0.5m gen mgt costs, 4 people paid > £60k)
Key mgt personnel: CEO,MD,exec dir x2 - total employee benefits of those 4: £300k

Trustees: Jonathan Andrews, Richard Beaven, Simon Blake, Katie Cornhill, Catherine Dixon, Jan Gooding (Chair), Sheldon Mills, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Rosalyn Parker, Lisa Pinney (Treasurer), Oliver Rowe, Tim Toulon, Mohsin Zaidi

CEO Ruth Hunt
Secretary Maxine Draper

4 core strategic priorities:

•	Empowering individuals
•	Transforming institutions
•	Changing hearts and minds
•	Changing laws

Here’s some information about Jan Gooding, Stonewall Chair, who seems to have overseen the financialisation of Stonewall from charity into deep pocketed lobby group:

Jan Gooding Group Brand Director Aviva

Jan is one of the most senior directors in the Aviva Group and is responsible for the leadership, oversight and governance of brand and marketing strategy worldwide. She is the very visible sponsor of the LGBT employee network Aviva Pride, and was elected Chair of Trustees of Stonewall in May 2014. This year she guided the board of trustees through a change in the remit of Stonewall to include ‘T’ in the focus of their activities, and in March she gave the annual lecture to the Employment Lawyers Association, addressing over 500 lawyers, QC’s and judges across the country on the areas of concern to Stonewall as the legal changes took hold.

From her public Linkedin Profile:

Jan Gooding is a marketing leader with a career which has included senior executive roles working with blue chip companies like BT, British Gas, Diageo, Unilever and, most latterly, as the Group Brand director at Aviva. She was responsible for unifying the c£400K global marketing spend under the brand idea 'Good Thinking'. In her final role at Aviva, as their first Global Inclusion Director, she led the introduction of the ground-breaking policy of equal parental leave.
-She is currently the Chair of LGBT equality charity Stonewall, which reaches and supports LGBT activists in over 70 countries worldwide. When she took over the helm, Stonewall was focussed on equality based on people’s sexual orientation, and did not actively campaign on gender identity issues-. Under her leadership Stonewall extended it remit to campaign for trans equality in 2015.
She was appointed President of MRS (Market Research Society) April 2017. And is a Fellow of the Marketing Society and member of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communication London).
Jan is known to be one of the UK’s most outspoken marketing leaders on the subjects ranging from building global brands to inclusive leadership.

Her remarks from 2018 Stonewall Review:

Now is such a critical time for Stonewall, as we continue to fight for all aspects of LGBT inclusion. Reflecting on the year now coming to an end, 2018 has been a difficult year, particularly for trans people. They have faced a barrage of negative coverage, and we at Stonewall have made no bones about using our voice and our platform to directly confront it. But the struggle for lesbian, gay and bi equality hasn’t let up either.
We stand up forpeople.
We stand up for the respect and acceptance of L, plus G, plus B, plus T, plus, plus, plus: we stand up for people. For just as we jointly suffer from hate, discrimination and ignorance from certain quarters of society, we are united by, and stand together, to insist on equality for everyone.
One thing is true. We do draw a line with regard to questioning whether trans people deserve the same level of equality as any other group. This aspect of the current media frenzy is not up for debate.
We also believe that giving greater equality and respect to trans people will not negatively impact the rights of women or any other group.
We know that acceptance and respect for all LGBT+ people is not achieved through false ‘debates’ on social media.
We know that the acceptance and respect we seek for all LGBT+ people is not achieved through false ‘debates’ on social media. It is done by hard work on the ground, day after day, in our schools, communities and workplaces.
Here are a few examples of what our brilliant staff and volunteers have been up to:
• For the first time we attended 30 Prides,reaching some communities for the first time.
• Our hardworking Information Service dealt with over 5,550 calls and emails.
• We now have over 1,500 Stonewall School Champions and trained 2,300 teachers, all of whom are now working to make schools safe and inclusive spaces for LGBT pupils. Importantly, 458 of these are schools with faith values.
• We launched a new international programme to work with 29 organisations in 25 countries to specifically address human rights violations faced by lesbians, bi women and trans people over the next two years.
• We successfully lobbied the Government to make Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education, compulsory in all of England’s schools and LGBT inclusive.
• As part of our international ‘Access to Justice’ programme, we trained 118 police, prosecutors and policy-makers in Europe on hate crime and LGBT equality and diversity.
• No less than 25 leading global organisations, employing 1.3 million people across the world, demonstrated their commitment to improving workplace equality by entering our Global Workplace Equality Index.
• We successfully lobbied the Government to reduce the period that gay and bi men need to have had no sexual activity before donating blood from 12 months to 3 months.
• Following our extensive lobbying, the UK Government launched a consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act (2004) which received record coverage and a huge response from our supporters.

Rather ironic remarks considering the unreliability of Stonewall’s stats:

-I have to say that throughout my career getting my hands on trustworthy data and insight has been crucial. It helps to explain where you are. How you may have got there. And what viable options there may be to move forward-.

And from our friends at Pink News, some insights into the PR & marketing expertise behind Stonewall:

Ogilvy Pride UK is the LGBT specialist PR & marketing consultancy of Ogilvy & Mather Group UK. As well as being recognised as Stonewall Champions, Ogilvy’s global efforts have been recognised by the Human Rights Campaign Organisation, who have rated the company as one of the best places to work as an LGBT individual.

Ogilvy Pride targets pink pound. The division will help clients tap into the $3trillion global LGBT market.By 2020 it is estimated that in London alone the traditional mainstream majority will be outnumbered by minority groups. For a global brand campaign to be truly strategic in its communications, consideration of minority consumer audiences such as LGBT is now key.’

Ogilvy Pride is also the first global agency to partner with UK-based LGBT advocacy organization, Stonewall. A spokesperson for Stonewall told Gay Star Business: ‘It’s great to see Ogilvy launch a specialism that specifically looks out for the needs of the LGBT community.’
In the US, Ogilvy & Mather Group scored a top ranking of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent Corporate Equality Index.
Below, in a recent video produced by Ogilvy Pride, Jonathan Mildenhall, the Chief Marketing Officer of Airbnb, explains why initiatives such as Ogilvy Pride are important in the marketing industry; an industry he describes as ‘inherently conservative’.

Ogilvy Pride, the LGBT and inclusive marketing specialists from across the Ogilvy Group, have announced a significant expansion of the agency’s leadership team with the appointment of a new head of the agency for the team and two new deputies

OP posts:
Melroses · 24/01/2019 20:04

The interconnectedness of all things. Just wow. Excellent thread.

FloralBunting · 24/01/2019 20:06

Indeed

womanformallyknownaswoman · 24/01/2019 22:40

However, they have left in other points of clear bias. For example, rejecting gender ideology/wrong body theory would still fall under the definition of transphobia.

Freedom of Thought (and by extension disbelief) is protected under the Human Rights Act 1998, article 9. Trans people do have a right to believe they are literally the opposite sex but they have no right to compel this belief in other people.

A couple of comments from the Twitter thread referenced:

The outsourcing of police policy and practice to a lobby group with an agenda, is a cause for concern and a risk to the principle of policing by consent.

Yes, Stonewall has become a self referential circle with this. Very, very worrying. It is "Corporate Charity State Capture". If Tesco wrote the Planning laws that slanted them in Tesco's direction there would be an outcry.

Something similar happened in Norway. This time last year there was no formal policy, they've certainly not consulted women's groups and they're referring to the yogyakarta principles.

OP posts:
OlennasWimple · 24/01/2019 23:20
OlennasWimple · 24/01/2019 23:22

That's £5250 plus VAT - do charities pay VAT?

Not on many things (I hesitate to say never, as I'm not an accountant)

ScrimshawTheSecond · 24/01/2019 23:28

Wow, who knew it was such a goldmine!

R0wantrees · 25/01/2019 01:13

The outsourcing of police policy and practice to a lobby group with an agenda, is a cause for concern and a risk to the principle of policing by consent.

Telegraph article today:
'Man investigated by police for retweeting transgender limerick'
(extract)
PC Mansoor Gul told Mr Miller: “I’ve been on a course and what you need to understand is that you can have a foetus with a female brain that grows male body parts and that’s what a transgender person is.”

After Mr Miller questioned why the complainant was being described as a “victim” if no crime had been committed, the officer told him: “We need to check your thinking”.

“I can’t believe what is happening in the UK in the name of transgenderism and, worse still, we’re not even allowed to think never mind talk about it,” Mr Miller said.

The married father of four was alerted to the investigation by his company directors after they were approached by officers trying to make contact with Mr Miller.

The complainant had managed to identify Mr Miller’s place of work, despite there being no reference to his business or his full identity on his Twitter account. As part of the complaint to police it was alleged the firm was an ‘unsafe environment’ for transgender employees because of Mr Miller’s comments on social media." (continues)

Confirming that he had spoken to Mr Miller for 20 minutes, PC Gul told the Telegraph he made the remark about the foetus because he had “learned it on a training course ran by a transgender person last summer”.

He added: “Although none of the tweets were criminal, I said to Mr Miller that the limerick is the kind of thing that upsets the transgender community. I warned him that if it escalates we will have to take further action. If someone comes forward and says: ‘I’m the victim of a hate incident and it’s really upsetting me’, then we have to investigate”. (continues)

concludes:
A spokesperson for Humberside Police said: “We take all reports of hate incidents seriously and will always investigate and take proportionate action.”

The move comes after feminist campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, better known as Posie Parker, was questioned under caution for the second time over comments made on social media about the founder of controversial charity Mermaids that campaigns on behalf of transgender children.

A mother of two was arrested last month after a complaint was made by a transgender woman who also went to police about comments posted on Twitter by Father Ted creator Graham Linehan. A popular transsexual blogger who believes men can’t become women is due to appear in court in March following allegations over a conversation on Twitter made by another Mermaids campaigner."

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/24/man-investigated-police-retweeting-transgender-limerick/

ChattyLion · 25/01/2019 07:35

The outsourcing of police policy and practice to a lobby group with an agenda, is a cause for concern and a risk to the principle of policing by consent.

Absolutely agree. It’s also an obvious casualty (or an intended result?) of decade long austerity cuts all over the public sector and of the withdrawal of government funding from many parts of the voluntary sector.

In this financial and political climate: The public sector struggles to continue to provide basic services or has to stop doing so. The voluntary sector has to contract and consolidates into popular/well connected causes only. Any powerful or well resourced/connected interest group then has an easy way in to influence public sector policy and practice. Only they have the resources/time and the political access to put forward policy principles for the public sector to adopt.
Couple that with Brexit taking up the Parliamentary political attention for the last few years and overstretched charity sector regulators and even less scrutiny is available of what is being proposed and adopted.

R0wantrees · 12/02/2019 10:05

11/2/2019 Times article by Elizabeth Burden

"Government funding ‘biased to trans activists’"
(extract)
Transgender activists get hundreds of thousands of pounds a year from the Scottish government, which some women’s campaigners said was evidence of bias.

Of more than £5 million allocated for equalities groups in 2017-18, LGBT groups received £883,800, including £200,000 for the Scottish Trans Alliance (STA). Only women’s groups that support proposals to allow people to self-identify their gender without a medical diagnosis received funding. (continues)

Some women’s groups argue that Ms Sturgeon is siding with transgender activists despite her plea to “depolarise” the gender debate. Women and Girls in Scotland, which opposes self-identification and trans women having access to women-only services, said: “It is important that the government develops its understanding of why alternative views nearly always come from organisations and groups that do not receive government funding.”

The STA co-wrote guidelines given to schools in 2017 that some women’s groups claim prioritise transgender children’s welfare over that of other children, such as by advising that girls who felt uncomfortable because of the presence of a trans child in a changing room should change elsewhere.

Members of Holyrood’s culture committee concluded this week that not all women’s groups had been adequately consulted about the inclusion of a third “non-binary” answer to the sex question in the census." (continues)

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/government-funding-biased-to-trans-activists-592wjkkkt?shareToken=2b65f350fdf9f16a4c81c865360ca273

Whilst the focus of the article is the Scottish Government and translobby and allied groups there, similar questions should be asked of Westminster and the funding of similar groups including Stonewall

FeedMeBooks · 12/02/2019 14:48

.

WeRiseUp · 12/02/2019 15:21

Thanks for this thread op.

I need to sit down and have a good read when I get the chance. The 2015 point is of interest. So much turned to shit in 2015.

R0wantrees · 24/02/2019 09:01

23/2/19 Nicholas Hellen Times article:

'Stonewall drives away backers with ‘trans’ agenda'
(extract)
"Two of the charity’s former ambassadors and donors revealed this weekend they had withdrawn their support in protest because “Ruth Hunt called it wrong and Stonewall is no longer a worthy champion of our rights”. (continues)

In a statement to The Sunday Times, [Maureen] Chadwick revealed the couple donated at least £38,000 to Stonewall from 2009 to 2015, before deciding to switch to funding women’s aid charities.

This weekend she said they had no idea “how completely the militant ‘trans’ agenda would overwhelm Stonewall with its confusion of sex and gender and its blindness to all the complex rights issues resulting from that." (continues)

They urged the board to “wake up” before “any more young lives are damaged”. The charity, however, has issued a statement making clear it will not change course.

Jan Gooding, chairwoman of Stonewall’s board of trustees, said the group’s “commitment to integrate trans communities into our work has been and will continue to be a core part of our development as an organisation”. (continues)

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stonewall-drives-away-backers-with-trans-agenda-t9jqfhc60?shareToken=a7be57af977bc0c65924d198df080ab7

R0wantrees · 24/02/2019 09:03

current thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3514190-Ruth-Hunt-is-leaving-Stonewall

LizzieSiddal · 24/02/2019 10:07

From Charity Commission's guidelines:

• Legal requirement: when campaigning, charity trustees must comply not only with charity law, but other civil and criminal laws that may apply. Where applicable they should also comply with the Code of the Advertising Standards Authority.

Stonewall are so obviously in breach of this, as are Mermaids. They have either deliberately or because of lack of knowledge of the law, given organisations misleading information re the Equalities Act.

Is it worth pointing this out to the Charities Commisssion?

FeedMeBooks · 26/02/2019 09:27

*Charity or out and out lobbying organisation? The brazen arrogance of this

We will educate and upskill the new Government to understand why trans equality is vital, and we will put in place the right mechanisms to reform the Gender Recognition Act.

From the Trustees annual report 2016.*

I put this on the RH thread and feel it may be relevant here too in the light of the comments above about the Charity Commission and also David Isaac.

Babbas · 26/03/2019 14:22

I work for a big law firm (regional). Our firm has announced it has partnered up with stonewall and we will all soon have their training. I'm fucking appalled. I plan to speak to my manager about my outrage but wanted to go in with facts. Any help on how to frame this conversation? My manager is a brilliant female lawyer, a partner, and I think she will understand. Stonewall have made a massive beeline for law firms and are actively engaging them. I'm worried about saying anything about law firms can be real echo chambers but I can't stay silent!

Ereshkigal · 26/03/2019 15:58

Some of the points in this thread may be helpful, a mumsnetter challenged the policy around sex and gender in the Russell Group uni she worked in and has got informal legal advice that she might take further and pay for advice.

Civil Service Trans policy - what can I do?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3520371-civil-service-trans-policy-what-can-i-do

MNSDKHheroines · 26/03/2019 16:25

I wouldn't go in with outrage. Why have they partnered with Stonewall? In what ways do they hope it will enhance corporate reputation? Then you can show how it may achieve the opposite.

I would go armed with information on the Johnny Best petition and some tweets/articles where others also think Stonewall has lost the plot including Simon Fanshawe (co-founder of Stonewall).

Imnobody4 · 26/03/2019 16:32

I agree with MNSDKHheroines. This is a bubble that is very close to bursting just like Kids Company, A4E and all the others in the charity sector. Long spoon required.

RepealTheGRA · 26/03/2019 16:40

I’d show her the petition and encourage her to read all the comments.
www.ipetitions.com/petition/dear-stonewall-please-reconsider-your-approach

And mention the recent Accenture debacle and how controversial mermaids has become and suggest that this may be bad PR and perhaps take a watch and wait approach.

Point out that they need to check the legality of advice that stonewall give re the EA2010 and protected characteristics and single sex exemptions. Getting caught misrepresenting the Law, wouldn’t be a good look for a law firm.

OldCrone · 26/03/2019 16:52

There's a long post by @NoCissy about David Isaac on this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3531800-Incorrect-Government-Information

He has not given up his personal legal role whilst chairing the EHRC. Questions were asked at the time of his appointment about this potential conflict of interest. Harriet Harman (Parliament's joint Committee on Human Rights) in particular was concerned that he could not avoid conflict with his business interests, and questioned why these interests had not been raised as an issue prior to his appointment.

Nobody seems to have questioned his connections with the pressure group Stonewall and whether that might lead him into conflict.

More on the other thread.

Powergower · 26/03/2019 16:54

Our firm also has aligned itself with stonewall and we were recently informed they're doing some training with us! I am going to raise this privately with my boss. I can't believe that the firm have made this decision, especially in a firm with 70% female employees. And the fucking final straw was that the stonewall announcement was at the start of a meeting about the gender pay gap!! The fucking irony.

Babbas · 26/03/2019 19:25

Great ideas here, thanks.

Actoncurrerellis · 26/03/2019 20:49

Babbas
Who better than a law firm to probe the training given by Stonewall? After all, definitions really matter to lawyers - every legal contract will include a section on defined terms - so it would be natural for the audience collectively to seek clarity on Stonewall’s definition of sex, gender, woman, man, trans etc.etc. Then if the trainer states that gender is a protected characteristic under EA2010 you can correct them, politely but not apologetically - again, accuracy is important for lawyers.

Any use of the Barbie - GI Joe gender spectrum could invite clarifying questions along the lines of: One of GI Joe’s attributes is physical strength. Men lose physical strength as they age. Does this mean that they automatically move along the spectrum as they get older?

And of course the never-answered question: What rights are you seeking for trans people that they don’t already have?

If you have some supportive colleagues you should be able to point out the logical difficulties with the Stonewall approach, say that the fair treatment of trans people deserves serious, not superficial, consideration, and make the trainer wish they hadn’t come.

Powergower · 26/03/2019 21:45

It's really hard to find out what other colleagues think. People are too scared to be honest, especially in law firms. Ice been trying to sounds out what other women and men in the team think but no one is really opening up. I did get some support from a lawyer I sit next to on the issue of trans in women's sport and the impact but I could tell he was trying to choose his words really carefully so as not to offend!