Workplace cake sale to raise money for Mermaids

[Cucumbersalad]

To celebrate International Women's Day a charity bake sale is being held at my workplace to raise money for Mermaids UK, "to show our support for the transgender community".

Has anybody come across a similar situation in the workplace, and if so, did you raise any concerns? I'm cowardly about speaking out, but I feel I should say something! How to do this delicately/ sensitively?.I don't want to rock the boat though, as it's work! And ultra-woke...

Reading these posts and one, in particular, advising to just not turn up it struck me to ask if it's open to everyone?

If a load of women turned up and loudly questioned the choice of charity, asking loudly what it has to do with women then maybe a single penny might drop.

Maybe with a tray of cupcakes sold for a local woman’s refuge?

Thanks OP and colleagues for speaking up. I've been spitting fucking feathers since I first read this post, it's fucking outrageous you should be put in this position and expected to be home bakers and cheerleaders. What a disgrace. How dare anyone redefine feminism!? Let that activist start their own ism ffs.

OP and others, have you directly asked in your email what the link is between IWD and Mermaids?

Quite from being an appalling organisation, there is literally no link between the two. Mermaids is an organisation for CHILDREN. IWD is about ADULTS. It's as arbitrary as supporting Barnardos on IWD.

If they want to grasp for an unbelievably tenuous (yet equally offensive) link, they'd be better off doing it on October 11- International Day of the Girl!

Can’t you find a few Ls to speak to them?

In terms of changing the charity, they said further conversations with the LGBTQ+ group are needed to gain more understanding...

Ffs, how thick is this person? If it's for WOMEN's Day, consult WOMEN or just pick a WOMEN's charity!

Ffs cucumber, just saw your update. On the plus side, maybe we will help encourage some of our colleagues to question the likes of mermaids and their ilk...
Lets keep our fingers crossed until we have a definitive answer 🤞🤞

If they come back and say the LGBTQ+ group won’t budge, say you want fundraisers for women charities for the whole of Pride month in exchange?

Maybe include a list of 30 women’s charities, one for each day?

Unless you have a load of scary older women in the office who are fed up with everything womanly needing to centre around lgbetc?

If they come back and say the LGBTQ+ group won’t budge, say you want fundraisers for women charities for the whole of Pride month in exchange?

That is genius.

It seems IWD has been hijacked by another agenda altogether.

It certainly has

How can anyone argue that this is not a movement for the erasure of women?

The non binary person giving a speech - let me guess, a male in women's clothes?

It's like someone at the top has thought "the trouble with IWD is that there's just not enough males!"

God, it makes me furious.

In terms of changing the charity, they said further conversations with the LGBTQ+ group are needed to gain more understanding...

Why does the LGBTQ+ group get to dictate what charity money is raised for on International WOMENS Day?

Don't other charities,awareness days not get a look in anymore?

Yes I think asking for a whole month of raising money for women's charities during the six months of Pride is a fair exchange

I’m sure we can come up with some great suggestions for women’s causes that disproportionately affect the L and the female B.
And some charities relating to female biology (so inclusive of half the T)

Wouldn’t want them worry about sending the wrong message in Pride month! 🙄

In terms of changing the charity, they said further conversations with the LGBTQ+ group are needed to gain more understanding...

Are many of the LGBTQ+ group women?
Does this cross group decison making happen on other days?

I’m assuming you are private sector. If public, I’d be looking at the civil service code & what is said about political impartiality- this is a lobbying organisation.

Why does the LGBTQ+ group get to dictate what charity money is raised for on International WOMENS Day?

They are our new Overlords now - everything has to go through them, to ensure women aren't up to anything unsupervised...

In terms of changing the charity, they said further conversations with the LGBTQ+ group are needed to gain more understanding...

As per PP, I'm slightly confused as why the LGBTQ+ group needs to be consulted on International Women's Day

Well done on alll you emailing women trying to get clarity on this.

IWD seems to have been subsumed into LGBTQ+ plus plus.

Women have been lost. But women are standing back up.

What was it Suzanne Moore has just said? Oh yes - "There are more of us than you think."

Sorry to derail but are there plans to put this on a T-shirt? I’d buy one!

Oh, there are clearly enough of you to start some kind of GC feminist group too!

Call it something generic or historic if you’d prefer to fly under the radar a bit but if the founders/officers hold a GC position you can create a group with that ethos.

That way next year, there will be a Women’s LIb group or Feminist network or a Female Equality Committee ready and expecting to be consulted.

*Oh, there are clearly enough of you to start some kind of GC feminist group too!
**
Call it something generic or historic if you’d prefer to fly under the radar a bit but if the founders/officers hold a GC position you can create a group with that ethos.

That way next year, there will be a Women’s LIb group or Feminist network or a Female Equality Committee ready and expecting to be consulted.*

Excellent idea. Slogan should be 'Nothing about us without us!'

Bold fail

"In terms of changing the charity, they said further conversations with the LGBTQ+ group are needed to gain more understanding..."
Please please challenge this! I expect the vast majority of this group will be men.
Actually that's an interesting question in its own right.

Don't worry, I will definitely be challenging this!

Perish the thought that a Women's Day activity should go ahead without prior approval of the LGBTQ+ committee..!

Good :)
Not sure why it's called that anyway. Surely GBT would be more accurate