Oxford University submission to Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index

[Mollyollydolly]

I couldn't see this posted any where else .. apologies if I've missed it.
Helen Joyce posted this on twitter yesterday Oxford Uni's's submission to Stonewall's WorkPlace Equality Index. It's 100 pages, don't try and read it all, but well worth a look. PLEASE look at the various illustrations at the end.

What a complete and utter waste of time and it makes Oxford look like a complete laughing stock.
I cant stop laughing. Still don't know why the giraffe is there. Is it one of Dawn Butlers?

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/725260/response/1738979/attach/3/Annex%20A%20WEI%202020.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

Human Rights Act 1998
You cannot be discriminated against because of your religious beliefs but neither can you discriminate against others because of those beliefs

I think this particular bit is aimed at GC's. They are saying GC is a 'religious belief', not gender ideology, which they must begrudgingly allow us to have but that we are not allowed to express in any way it in case it causes hurt feelings to the elves

That is completely batshit, how embarrassing for them!

The misrepresentations of the legislation.

Typo errors. E.g., pg. 198 Plain old unatural

Pg. 196 was a Stats Crime as per its heading although we'd probably disagree as to the meaning/intention of that.

All those reminders on the slide about respect for people's preferences and yet the authors of those couldn't refrain from that wretched discussion of intersex. I note the centring of the trans perspective on pg. 177 in the glossary about intersex. Just how many times do intersex organisations and advocates have to say that they want organisations to stop annexing them as cover?

@Whatsnewpussyhat

Human Rights Act 1998 You cannot be discriminated against because of your religious beliefs but neither can you discriminate against others because of those beliefs

I think this particular bit is aimed at GC's. They are saying GC is a 'religious belief', not gender ideology, which they must begrudgingly allow us to have but that we are not allowed to express in any way it in case it causes hurt feelings to the elves

Agreed.

What HRA 1998 actually says (rather than the slide pack):

*Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

1 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

2 Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/I/chapter/8#:~:text=1Everyone%20has%20the%20right,%2C%20teaching%2C%20practice%20and%20observance.

And cartoons from “Assigned male” Sophie Labelle..

Page 203

I can’t join the dots of what they’re trying to say.

1st para statement from EA’10 (with the incorrect gender identity bit slipped in) re protected characteristics.

2nd para - Human Rights Act ‘98 re religious belief.

Is this anything do to with squaring the circle re the colleges strong ecumenical links???

Page 193
Nice to see some ‘official’ clarification re drag and DSD not being under the trans umbrella.
Or, just on this doc?

Not even consistent throughout the submission.
Section 4.4 (I think) had a question about "what have you done to raise LGB awareness?" Then a separate question asking what had been done to raise trans awareness.
The answer to the first was all about raising trans awareness. Not LGB.

Then in their training document at the end, there was a slide that explicitly stated that trans was nothing to do with sexuality.

Who ever filled that submission in should redo the training...

JFC

I mean, I'd say I'm embarrassed for them and isn't it hilarious, gay giraffe skeleton, pink recorder (wtf) etc - but my D1 is there in her first year. The workload and academic pressure is unbelievable on top of periods of self isolation, all lectures and tutorials on line, no social side to balance things out. The demand for counselling services has increased see here and they are wasting time on this utter bobbins. And of course they misrepresent the Equality Act:

"Unlawful to directly or indirectly discriminate someone (or their
family / friends) due to their gender identity or sexuality
Unlawful to harass or victimise someone for their gender identity
or sexuality"
(from one of the slides at the end)

I'm furious.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Only if seen through an anthropomorphic lens, from my limited knowledge of giraffes. That document is excruciatingly embarrassing for Oxford.

Well, indeed.

Cultural appropriation is apparently deserving of a public scolding or flogging, but anthropomorphism is applauded.

It's the logic of fools.

Wow, so 93% of people identify as 'hetro'. Assuming that they meant to use a common abbreviation, do they not teach basic Greek at Oxford any more?

Also, is it true that only 12.9% of the population have a race and 6.3% have a sexual orientation? Amazing....

Also, I understand why they don't like the implications of the suggestion that being trans is a mental illness, but I very much dislike the way that often leads on to stigmatising mental illness. I still remember an angry and exasperated Theresa May spitting out that "It is NOT a MENTAL ILLNESS!" To me, that sounded very much like the suggestion that mental illness is somehow shameful, dirty and to be spoken of in hushed, negative terms, whereas being trans is clearly something to be celebrated, of course.

Previous thread about the "assigned male" comics.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4174892-Creator-of-assigned-male-comics-is-a-little

And I also strongly reject the arrogant suggestion that 'cis' is a 'trans term'. Apart from many people called by this slur stating that we find it offensive and compartmentalising, how dare any community assume to choose the vocabulary by which those from other communities identify (other than 'non-XXX' as a neutral term to indicate that people belong to a different group)?

I'm white: can you even begin to think how arrogant it would be if I started telling the world how black and Asian people 'should be' referred to, according to the terms that I had arbitrarily decided that I felt appropriate - even when actual black and Asian people had widely stated that they found it offensive to be referred to in that way?

Who ever filled that submission in should redo the training...

I'm guessing that the training was as incoherent as this resulting 'homework'. The dog didn't just eat it, the dog vomited it back up again.

What a colossal waste of resources.

I understand why they don't like the implications of the suggestion that being trans is a mental illness, but I very much dislike the way that often leads on to stigmatising mental illness.

Agreed that slide was unhelpful. It is an oddly euphemistic way to address suicide (I'd recognise those misrepresented numbers anywhere).

How many of us are longing for a recording of the voiceover during presentation that would make sense of all this?

This is incredibly embarrassing for them. Oxford FFS!

The people at Cambridge must be having a chuckle. Unless they sent a submission too ?

That bloody crime stat one is dreadful.
Make out it's uk based then throw in murder figs that have nothing to do with the uk without context.

Also ridiculous that they anything regarding sexual violence must use 'gender neutral language' when we all know that the vast majority of sexual violence is male on female. Nothing neutral about it.

I especially liked this bit;

Good practice: Linacre College women’s weightlifting club welcomes members who are women, cis or trans, as well as people with a complex gender identity which includes ‘woman’.

Seems a bit giraffe-exclusionary though.

'Linacre College allows cheating in sports'.

Also, the “stats crime” bit - claims that there are 30,000 trans people in the UK?

Meanwhile, Stonewall claims there are 600,000?

Why aren't the other protected characteristics in their table? Do they not give a toss about them.

Also, are they implying that your gonads are below your knee and generally in the calf area of sketches of elvish gaming figures .

@Abhannmor

The people at Cambridge must be having a chuckle. Unless they sent a submission too ?

Cambridge have no reason to laugh, they teach sex is a spectrum.

That is really embarrassing. NGL, I enjoyed paging through it, though and then I remembered that this is actually serious...

Using cartoons by Assigned Male/Sophie Labelle, though . Labelle is a very ropey character. Some...unfortunate...interests, have a google if you’re not aware.

Also, I understand why they don't like the implications of the suggestion that being trans is a mental illness, but I very much dislike the way that often leads on to stigmatising mental illness. I still remember an angry and exasperated Theresa May spitting out that "It is NOT a MENTAL ILLNESS!" To me, that sounded very much like the suggestion that mental illness is somehow shameful, dirty and to be spoken of in hushed, negative terms

Absolutely. Then the same people will, in the next breath, bludgeon you with suicide statistics (which happily, are not as bad as some activists would have you believe).

Also, are they implying that your gonads are below your knee and generally in the calf area

I've not read the report but that sounds like something nicked from a Star Trek film, where Kirk kicks an alien during a scuffle.

Unlawful to directly or indirectly discriminate someone (or their
family / friends) due to their gender identity or sexuality

So important to include family and friends, even on a PowerPoint where so much explanation is absent.

Got to remember the allies!

Has no one solved the mystery of the pink recorder?!