The Times articles on Stonewall: 26.06.2021

[JessicaYardley]

There is a series of articles in the Times covering different aspects of Stonewall:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stonewall-equality-list-bullies-bosses-and-silences-dissent-cz6k7klf5

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stonewall-ambassador-i-believed-in-the-scheme-to-uphold-rights-but-we-created-a-monster-0c9vvzhfm

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/avon-and-somerset-police-paid-stonewall-thousands-learning-to-be-lgbt-ally-zdqnnvmdn

@PearPickingPorky

" As a corrosive example, the Scottish government’s applications have included screenshots of social media activity and the ostracism of dissenting colleagues on internal forums".

I guess this also explains why so many companies, The Body Shop, the RA, M&S, God there are far too many to list, rush to publicly denounce every woman on on twitter who questions their anti-women policies or actions. They do it to make an example of the woman, in order to then submit that as evidence to Stonewall to get Stonewall points.

Often causing a pile-on, including threats of rape and violence towards a woman, all to get "points" from Stonewall to show how misogynistic they are. Only for Stonewall to say, "Good, but not good enough, you need to go further".

All the little pieces of the picture are falling into place.

I'd never thought of that! Targeting women in order to gain Stonewall's approval. So depressing.

Shockingly, my organisation, led by a female CEO and female HR and diversity leads has implemented every policy. What were they thinking?

So glad I bought the Times today, well worth the money just to read these articles.

@RoyalCorgi

Like Mandy Rhodes, I'm wondering whether the insanity of the last few years is all down to Stonewall's influence. Can it really be that councils are removing the words "mother" and "woman" from their maternity policy simply to appear on Stonewall's top 100 employers list? Can it be that my local police force endlessly posts on social media about LGBT issues but never about race or sex or disability for the same reason? Can it be that the Scottish government is actually CHANGING THE LAW so it can gain Stonewall points?

It really seems, gobsmackingly, as if the answer is yes.

What is so wonderful about being a Stonewall top 100 employer that it's worth all this crap?

Its because they have managed to harness general and widespread misogyny. Hence people now have a means of sticking it to women, and forcing them to lower their boundaries, all in the name of virtue and progression.

It's appeals to people for whom the idea that women are just lesser than, is utterly ingrained.

The rape threats, the death threats, the violence. All very comfortingly on the right side of history.

There are far, far more people who resent women than I, at least, ever imagined.

Plus, they can force women and children to lower their boundaries - mixed sex changing rooms, men assaulting women in female prisons, men beating women in sport, yippee.

Fantastic comment from the wonderful Josephine March to one of the Times articles. A handy roundup of some of the many actions happening in the courts to push back against Stonewall law.

Echoing others saying you knew it was bad but this is

Thanks to Lucy Bannerman keeping on this and Sex Matters for the FOIs.

@WeeSisters

Shockingly, my organisation, led by a female CEO and female HR and diversity leads has implemented every policy. What were they thinking?

Internalised misogyny is strong.

Look at the people who lead on 'false accusations of rape' and bring that forward every single time there is a discussion about the low level of rape prosecutions in England and even lower level of convictions.

There is a huge perceived cost that acts as a deterrent to ruining men's lives and the collateral damage to their career and families is always mentioned. There's no social cost to ruining women's lives and rarely ever consideration of what this does to their career or family. There is no reputational harm - companies and women garner admiration for harming other women as it's proof of the moral virtue of a cause.

One of the phrases that's stayed with me decades after reading it because of its horror is (I've defanged it): It's bad enough to be assaulted by the patriarchy. It's worse when it's your own sisters who are holding down your arms and legs to facilitate this.

I agree and that makes me sceptical of the radfem view that patriarchy is behind TRA misogynism. In the NHS and BMA women are happy to chuck other women under the bus in the desire to "be kind", many heterosexual men are more sceptical knowing what they regard a woman to be

In the NHS and BMA women are happy to chuck other women under the bus in the desire to "be kind",

Hierarchies, pecking orders, and bullying are endemic in both. From all of the reports, so is racism.

They might be female dominated but the the power asymmetries and the self-righteousness of policing them suit those who like to abuse others to gain status within their own cliques and hierarchies.

A lot of people must be feeling worried about their jobs if stonewall falls, as it surely must.

They may also be worried about career progression. Working for Stonewall used to be a quick route into senior D&I or HR positions in the public sector. Indeed looking at how Stonewall has effectively 'placed' former staff across the public sector would be another way of calculating Stonewall reach. It is pretty wide.

Shocking, but good to see it all laid out like this.

I'm embarrassed to have a government this craven, to be honest.

Sorry I wasn't clear about the Times, embarrassing, I was trying to get share tokens to work! I've been a subscriber since it went behind the paywall they doubled my sub cost three months ago and I called them to protest, the agent negotiated with me and I conceded on Janice Turner so I'm still paying!

Sorry I wasn't clear about the Times, embarrassing,

Grief no - on any day I can't get access to our subscriptions as despite having passwords in a manager app, every day either my MiL, her partner or my DH has reset it sooner than use the password manager on autofill.

It's so bad, I can't see the point of us having subscriptions.

@EmbarrassingAdmissions

Sorry I wasn't clear about the Times, embarrassing,

Grief no - on any day I can't get access to our subscriptions as despite having passwords in a manager app, every day either my MiL, her partner or my DH has reset it sooner than use the password manager on autofill.

It's so bad, I can't see the point of us having subscriptions.

🤦‍♀️ I let my mum and sister use mine but they're quite tech savvy!

I let my mum and sister use mine but they're quite tech savvy!

My lot aren't - and in between this daily annoyance and the habit of leaving around boxes on the floor where I don't expect them - put it this way, I've broken toes in separate incidents in the last 10 days and banged my head badly enough tripping over the boxes to have been struggling with headache and nausea for the last 3 days.

I love them all - and the time taken to cope with all this eats my cognitive and emotional resources and consumes hours in a day.

My work is all that's keeping me going at present - that and FWR and being in the company of women who understand what it is like for us to continue to function in our daily lives amid everything that's happening in contemporary society and culture.