Sex Equality and Equity Network - Gender crit network for civil servants.

[fromorbit]

Important new initiative for government workers. This is where a huge fight back is going to happen in behind the scenes government, in memos and meetings. If we don't win in the civil service, it doesn't matter how many demos or cases we win, how many twitter threads we write, sooner or later sex differences will be erased. If you work in government/public sector get involved asp.

seen-network.uk/

"We are happy to announce the launch of our new UK cross-government staff network, the Sex Equality and Equity Network.
SEEN is a staff network committed to promoting and supporting sex equality and equity between women and men in our workplaces, and helping all staff to thrive at work and fulfil their potential. The focus of our network is on challenging sex discrimination and upholding rights and protections that relate to sex (including the protections provided to those with the protected characteristics of sex, pregnancy and maternity and sexual orientation, as set out in the Equality Act 2010). We recognise that to achieve this and ensure sex equality and equity sometimes requires treating women and men differently, according to our different rights and needs.

We are also committed to the protected belief (covered by the protected characteristic of religion and belief in the Equality Act 2010) that biological sex is binary and immutable, that biological sex matters for both women and men in our everyday lives, including for our rights and needs in the workplace, and that biological sex must not be conflated with, or replaced by, the concepts of gender or gender identity."

I’m a Civil Servant and have just signed up. Great news, hope it’s a network that starts being publicised by individual departments- I certainly haven’t heard anything from my department about it yet.

If I work in a school can I join?

Civil Service and ALBs st the moment, Lilah. Perhaps it's an opportunity for the wider public sector to start a similar network.

@Tallisker That is a real shame as there are huge implications to kids with gender ideology. I see it now in my primary school in year 5. Some teachers wear they/them badges.😡

I’m also Defra. I had a look on Yammer - massive thread (now deleted) under the announcement. 10 people ‘thumbs up’, 70 ‘sad face’. Another Yammer thread, started by someone who identifies as trans saying SEEN was about erasing trans people, with hundreds of supportive comments. There was just one comment by a SEEN member explaining that erasure was very much not what SEEN was about. I don’t have the guts to like the SEEN post, I wish I did. But the implications for my job and my career are too scary.

This is what worries me Green.

That’s so disappointing. But exactly what I would expect. I doubt that the GC people are in a massive minority, they’re just terrified of speaking out. I think I would have had to keep quiet in your shoes too and it would have really pained me.

Green I didn't see anything about the launch of this network, just a thread started by a trans person about how anti trans it was. There were comments about how it was a bit dodgy that it was an external website. I'm delighted to hear its Cab Off approved, that makes defending it much easier.

Tallisker There was a post announcing SEEN which had been closed by admins. I assume there had been a row in the comments underneath it (now deleted), which then carried on in the comments under the other post. There were lots of comments (in the 100s, I think) and I didn’t read them all, but it looked like that thread hadn’t been locked.

Some were arguing that SEEN was skirting around illegal language and tacitly encouraging people to cross that line, others that even if it was legal, it wasn’t an acceptable view to have publicly at work. So I don’t think Cab Off approval will make much difference to their views, unfortunately.

Lots of people are clearly very passionate and engaged. It made me question my views, yet again. But I still can’t see how we can apply the EA to our work if we don’t properly balance the rights of all the protected characteristics.

I've joined. Don't think our dept has Yammer. Not that many pronouns yet so far as I've seen although one unit hit headlines in trying to compel it a year or so ago. We're due 'a talk' on using pronouns but it hasn't yet materialised.

I'm in one of the DEFRA agencies, nice to see other DEFRA people here! I was following the Yammer threads, and couldnt believe how much nonsense was being spouted by people working in a science based department!

I'm sure there are many who will join SEEN, they just won't speak about it publically.

I know it is not a direct comparison, but look at the ratio in the comments on twitter, the GC vastly outnumber the other view.

I'm sure there are many who will join SEEN, they just won't speak about it publically.

I'm hoping that they are SEEN and heard...!

I can't read all 139 posts. But I can thank OP for this excellent news and commend the courage of those who set up seen-network.uk/. You are standing on the shoulders of giant(esses): Maya Forstater, Keira Bell and others. Thank you!

Attention any devolved administration civil servants.

I've had confirmation that SEEN has only been authorised by CO to be open to home civil service (UK Gov/Westminster) and ALBs.

Disappointing, but hopefully some of us will be inspired to look at our own admins 👍

Apparently this new network has posted this morning that bullying and harassment of colleagues with gender critical beliefs will not be tolerated. That's a start!

Fantastic! Are the adults putting a tentative step back into the room?

Where would this be posted?

It's on our Yammer page, Lucifer, sorry, I didn't make that clear. I'm guessing it's departmental, not necessarily civil service wide. I'm not too clued up on these things.

Great to see the network already bringing people together. No surprise it is already a target. We are re-enacting the role the first women and out gay people in public & government roles had. No-one wants us there. Because we mess up the cosy sexist bubble they have created.

There is an important lesson I think we can take from SEEN - note it is set up as a sex equality network for women and men. Women are going to be taking the lead on this BUT we need men too. They are capable of seeing how messed up these new sexist ideas are and how they damage all humans. Plus they function as human shields, because TRAs don't like attacking males. Sex matters to all humans if we want a better world we need to work together to improve things.

We clearly need similar set up for the NHS as a priority. That should be doable I think if people step up to organise. They already have other networks.
www.england.nhs.uk/about/working-for/staff-networks/

Also Local Government, but not sure how that can happen because of the way LG is set up. There are no cross council networks as far as I know. Traditionally we would do it through unions, but of course they have sold out to corporate neosexism. So do we fight to reclaim unions or go round them?

I know the Women's Trade Union Federation is working on networking critical ideas internally in unions, but not sure how far they have got.
twitter.com/WomensTUF

Then after we do all that and win, we just have to take on the world's largest corporations, the media, and academia.

Wow this is great news! I shall let my CG friends know

If you’re talking about DEFRA, it was a statement on Yammer about courtesy to both sides from an HR Director. It read scrupulously fairly to me. I found it really reassuring to see someone that senior be even-handed - it looks like she (or whoever wrote it for her) is clear on the legal position.

I thought it was fair and even handed too, Green. Didn't realise the poster was so senior, that's encouraging.

The people shouting down this new network keep going on about trans, but the network doesn't mention trans, just men and women. If TWA indeed W, they're covered too, surely? But of course, it's proof positive that they know they're not. Just sayin'

I probably need to name change now, shame, I like this name.

And today on Yammer, the EA are celebrating Trans Awareness Week, and on the 20th they are going to "remember and honour the trans and gender-diverse folk who have lost their lives to violent acts". It's going to be a long slog getting anywhere