Work DEI response: single-sex toilets

[ToriaB]

Excerpted response below from my email to the head of DEI where I work; my question and his answer.

Tempted to respond by saying "Humans don't change sex".

Just to confirm – does this mean that [this higher education institution] are no longer offering single-sex facilities at the study centres?

No – there is no change to our facilities, [the higher education institution] are continuing to provide single-sex facilities. Trans men may use male designated toilets and Trans women may use female designated toilets, as is our current policy. We are also investigating the possibility of our accessible toilets broadening their scope so that they may be used as a gender-neutral, single-lockable space.

That response about the mirror and religious headwear is doing my head in.

so a muslim woman now has to fix her hijab in the place she’s just been to the toilet and without getting to wash her hands before handling round her face? What a disgraceful response. 😡

"We are definitely not excluding women, and those not excluded women need to shut up, stop asking questions, wanting equality and making a fuss".

It's appalling. Just flat out lies. "We are providing single sex facilities for women (which men can use.)"

As if the lies just make it go away and they don't have to face the realities and that this does not work, and they have to admit it's a mess and take actions that will make the trans lobby angry. The hope is that women will just shut up and go away and save their bacon that way.

Fuck that.

They need to either provide female only facilities, say no to men, and weather the rage that women have equality.

Or embrace male supremacism, and own it.

They only get to pick one.

I wonder if we're at the same place @ToriaB My HEI has a policy that confuses sex & gender and in doing that, implies that TWAW. Totally captured.

If there were enough of us, I think that Sex Matters might be interested.

Just delurking to wish you well and express my admiraytion, @ToriaB . Power to your - I was going to say "elbow"; power to your strong heart and mind!

I agree 💪@ToriaB

Good luck op. Talking to him is like banging your head against a wall! He doesn’t seem to understand that sex and gender are two different things. Can you go above him?

I was going to say exactly this. Plus possibly bang her elbows on the sides of the cubicle as she does so. Great solution

Confusing sex and gender is transphobic - if you say they are the same, you are denying the existence of trans people. As this guy seems absolutely intent on doing.

(General "you", to be clear - not posters on this thread)

I take my hat off to you, ToriaB. Great work going up against this truly grim man, and your fully captured organisation.

Good luck with the next stages.

Thanks all. He's already copying in our head of HR and the appropriate pro-VC who seem content to let him get on with mangling sex and gender.

Have PM'd you

Well done you amazing " bigots " 💪

I'd really like to be able to say 'its time to get ACAS and your Trade Union involved' but they're all captured and I'm not sure they'd be any use.

Well done @ToriaB - the utter contempt for women including those of religious faiths that require single sex toilets /changing is something to behold. I guess we've moved past the point of everyone bending over backwards to show they weren't Islamophobic, and now it's fine again?!!

If a woman wearing a hijab has a heavy period and has blood on her hands, how is she supposed to adjust her hijab before she washes her hands? And why should any woman have to deal with menstruation in a space with male bodies in it? This man is showing a total and utter lack of basic knowledge about the biology and needs of half the population, how on earth can he be in charge of HR?

Hopefully word will get out about these exclusionary policies among the student body and women will be able to choose to go elsewhere.

Thanks for updating ToriaB, your approach is sound and feels difficult for them to wriggle out of. I'm also a pesky thorn in my EDI department's side and I consider it a worthwhile pastime

@ToriaB just catching up. So he realises they've fucked up and is trying to close you down.

Excellent!

Keep going!

😀

Can you go to the universities minister? If its not fuckwit keegan? Or higher? Kemi B? Who is the mp locally, are they captured?

I think KB has a sharp mind for this stuff. Go for it.

Does the HR man know / acknowledge that you have made a Freedom of Information Act request (for the risk assessment (if any) and consultation documents?
Assuming they don't agree to the meeting you've asked for, you could consider writing to HR to spell that out, perhaps adding some questions as part of your Freedom of Information Act request (eg - which categories of people did you consult and how, what were their responses, why didn't you carry out a risk assessment, etc).

As a Muslim woman I would definitely not use a toilet if there was a reasonable chance of having a man come in too. My female inlaws and nieces would certainly do so too.
I would avoid buildings that allowed it, or would insist on using the disabled toilet to comply with requirements of faith.

Also, Muslim women use the facilities for doing the wuzu before prayer. This has to be done in a single sex space, because it involves removing the hijab/scarf. Failure to provide a sex segregated space for wuzu is seriously discriminatory.

Sex Matters - toilets

https://sex-matters.org/posts/publications/toilets-matter-a-short-guide-to-law-and-good-practice/

meanwhile blocking the toilet stall for a woman who might be bursting to pee.

It's batshit.

Make male people 'comfortable' at the loss of comfort, dignity, privacy and access for females.

No. Get stuffed.

Find another solution that doesn't involve wrecking other people's access.