Stonewall out of Welsh Government #stonewall #welshgovernment

[MerchedCymru]

More and more organisations in the UK are waking up to the fact that Stonewall appear not be acting in good faith in the guidance and advice it gives to members of its 'Champions' scheme.

We have been concerned for some time that the Welsh Government's uncritical acceptance of Stonewall's take on Equality laws in the UK will affect womens rights in Wales.

On Tuesday Merched Cymru wrote to Welsh Government to request formally that it ends its membership of the Stonewall’s Diversity Champions scheme and the related Workplace Equality Index amid concerns that the advice it provides is misleading and potentially unlawful.

We are asking our members (and anyone who is as outraged and concerned as we are) to contact their Senedd member, send them this information and ask what are they doing to support and protect womens rights in Wales, then tweet, share and get this out there!

Read our report here merchedcymru.wales/2021/06/09/merched-cymru-stonewall-wales/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MerchedCymru
Twitter: @MerchedCymru
email: [email protected]

Maybe we could persuade WalesOnline to do an article about Merched Cymru’s post

We are trying through various channels to get this out to a wider audience. We'll post on this thread if we make any progress.

sputniknews.com/.../202106111083128452-women.../
No idea who Sputnik are MC but they seem to know who you are!

Would someone mind drafting a sample email for me to use to send this to my MP and MS please? I'd appreciate it - diolch.

I loaned Labour my vote for that last time in the last Senedd elections as I was more afraid of the far right wing rise but enough is enough.

@highame

Strange times, the Welsh voters went for Labour as a preference which means welsh women either don't mind being cis, or Welsh media have been very very quiet. Lets hope it was the Covid bounce and that Welsh women are going to come out fighting

It was an absolute nightmare finding anyone to vote for. 90% believed TWAW. The only partly that wasn’t were either the Tories or a new independence party with no usable policies. :(

@highame

Strange times, the Welsh voters went for Labour as a preference which means welsh women either don't mind being cis, or Welsh media have been very very quiet. Lets hope it was the Covid bounce and that Welsh women are going to come out fighting

It was so, so hard to vote - the options seem to be TWAW or nationalism (or both) so it had to be the least terrible option available, or nothing.

For me, that wasn't Labour but I can understand why for some it might have been.

I'm decidedly not 'cis'. And I still had to hold my nose to vote!

I don’t think the majority of women in Wales know about the whole Self ID situation. I never hear it discussed. My MP didn’t want to talk openly about it. The Welsh press aren’t critical friends. It isn’t and issue when it should be.

I wrote something short and sweet Igowalking -- and included a particularly kick-ass quote from @MerchedCymru's report:

Dear SM

Merched Cymru recently produced a short report outlining concerns, about the influence of Stonewall on Welsh Government and the potential illegality of their advice. Here is the link.
merchedcymru.wales/2021/06/09/merched-cymru-stonewall-wales/?fbclid=IwAR0CPNt5fXK6zocMDJ9SglQ8kxSVThh_T_e7gFDsci4CLjE5ICwDHGN5pGM

I share their concerns, particularly in light of the judgment in the Maya Forstater case.

The report makes it clear that: “if Welsh Government continues its membership of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Scheme it will be a declaration that it is content to disregard the Equality Act in favour of the political agenda of an unelected lobbying organisation.
This will risk discrimination against employees on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and religion or belief and send a clear signal that some staff are valued and protected above others."

These are significant matters. I would appreciate an early response from you as my elected representative.

Diolch yn fawr iawn - I’ll get that off to Rhiannon Passmore and Chris Evans now although I certainly don’t hold out much hope. He at least is the worst sort of vote chasing, man of no principles.

the impact assessment had been done but that all documentation, emails, details of meetings and communications relating to it had been lost — in two languages! Lost, my arse.

It gives me great faith in both their honesty and their competence…

I really hope something happens soon. The secrecy has been appalling and the press are culpable.

I spoiled my ballot in the last election, but that is not a solution. The Maya case might help, but if political parties are hostile to GC women, then, no matter what the law, they can always make life uncomfortable and say it's debate not hate

That's a good slogan, has anyone used it debate not hate

Good luck vipers, lets hope the tide will turn

@IGoWalkingAfterMidnight
Have you seen the FOI on Stonewall sent to Caerphilly? They have failed to answer it.

@IGoWalkingAfterMidnight

Would someone mind drafting a sample email for me to use to send this to my MP and MS please? I'd appreciate it - diolch.

I loaned Labour my vote for that last time in the last Senedd elections as I was more afraid of the far right wing rise but enough is enough.

You sound remarkably like what what be called a CF on AIBU!

There's loads of material to read, absorb and than compile your own email on the MC website. You're clearly literate. Seems really unfair to ask the women who are already shouldering the burden voluntarily to do something more to save you time and effort.

@Berthatydfil no - I haven't seen that. I'm pretty new to an awareness of this. Late to the party I guess you'd say and trying to catch up. I just hope that I'm not too late to help undo the damage that I can see already being done on young women in particular who seem to be giving up hard fought for and won rights in favour of what they see as 'inclusivity'.

@Shedbuilder i'm really glad @OldBadger1 didn't have that response. I appreciated her efforts on behalf of me and all women. As I said above, I'm reasonably new to this fight and have a lot of catching up to do. I may come across as articulate but I certainly lack confidence in expressing myself in these circumstances - and if an already drafted letter helps me and other women speak out then what is the problem? From what I can tell, we're all in this together and critcising people doesn't seem that helpful here.

@Berthafydfil

I've just googled and seen this

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/stonewall_6

Are there consequences for no responding or is it escalated?

@IGoWalkingAfterMidnight
Also this
<a class="break-all" href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/740856/response/1773079/attach/3/CCBC%2520IIA%2520Form%2520Final.docx?cookie_passthrough%3D1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/740856/response/1773079/attach/3/CCBC%2520IIA%2520Form%2520Final.docx?cookie_passthrough%3D1

This is their Equality impact assessment form.

I think they are pretty much stonewalled by looking at the definitions of the protected characteristics.

Yes - I started reading and noticed the Gender Reassignment. I also saw the difference in responses to the Pride FOI and IWD & WHM.

I seriously was asleep - I didn't realise the situaton was so dire.

Thanks for supporting me and showing me where to read more.

I see someone has already FOId my employer which is good as it's not something I would feel able to do. Puzzled though as apparently we haven't done anything with Stonewall yet I'm pretty sure we were listed by Stonewall as one of their public sector organisations.

@Olderbadger1

I wrote something short and sweet Igowalking -- and included a particularly kick-ass quote from *@MerchedCymru*'s report:

Dear SM

Merched Cymru recently produced a short report outlining concerns, about the influence of Stonewall on Welsh Government and the potential illegality of their advice. Here is the link.
merchedcymru.wales/2021/06/09/merched-cymru-stonewall-wales/?fbclid=IwAR0CPNt5fXK6zocMDJ9SglQ8kxSVThh_T_e7gFDsci4CLjE5ICwDHGN5pGM

I share their concerns, particularly in light of the judgment in the Maya Forstater case.

The report makes it clear that: “if Welsh Government continues its membership of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Scheme it will be a declaration that it is content to disregard the Equality Act in favour of the political agenda of an unelected lobbying organisation.
This will risk discrimination against employees on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and religion or belief and send a clear signal that some staff are valued and protected above others."

These are significant matters. I would appreciate an early response from you as my elected representative.

Da Iawn Olderbadger1 Do let us know if you're writing to your local AM and MP. Always good to have a constituent write, as you're more likely to get a response. They want your vote! 😊

Have emailed you @MerchedCymru - some fellow vipers have also sent in letters; I'll ask them to get in touch.

Lots of people waking up ATM - especially in universities from what I can gather.

Keep up the good work MC. Solidarity.

I came on to suggest that it's worth everyone writing to ask the Auditor General for Wales to investigate.
www.audit.wales/about-us/auditor-general-wales
He's directly appointed by the Queen and is independent of all public bodies in Wales.

His remit: "Includes examining how public bodies manage and spend public money, including how they achieve value in the delivery of public services."

Then I had a closer look at the Wales Audit Office's Strategic Equality Plan, and guess what? Here's what it says: "Communicating with staff on progress made through our work as a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme."

I still think recent events mean it's worth everyone writing to the Wales Audit Office asking them to question whether WG splashing the cash with Stonewall is a good use of public money, and suggesting they also ask the same questions of themselves.

WG itself is a lost cause which is not to say we shouldn't contact our representatives because that at least creates a record. Asking the body set up to keep an eye on the public purse might be even more effective even if they have been captured to some extent.

Brilliant Lemon! Especially since they are attempting to be gamekeeper and poacher (and the partridge in the pear tree probably).

I'll do that tomorrow.

2 A guide for correspondentsThe Auditor General for Wales audits the accounts of Welsh public bodies, such as:•the Welsh Government;• local authorities; and• NHS Local Health Boards and Trusts.The Auditor General also does value for money audits of Welsh public bodies’ use of resources – their funds and assets. For some types of local government body, he does performance improvement assessments. The Auditor General’s work helps the general public and elected representatives to hold public bodies to account.

If you are a member of the public and wish to raise a specific concern about an organisation that we audit, please contact us by:
Email: [email protected]

I thought I’d update you with the response I received from my MP Chris Evans.

I don’t think he’s even bothered to read or find out anything about the matter. I am very annoyed - it feels as though he is implying that I am not in support of LGB rights.

It’s pretty typical of him though - he’s definitely lost my vote.

You’re doing better than me. Mine hasn’t even bothered to respond at all!