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.

Best of luck @ToriaB

Good luck in the new job Toria and well done for speaking up. Fingers crossed the Dean pays attention

I'm so pleased for you, congratulations on the new job!
Hopefully the exit survey will go somewhere other than HR and perhaps someone will take notice.
Also the government making things clearer on the need for single sex toilets might help, ignoring women and girls is one thing and far too easy, ignoring the law is different.

@ToriaB congratulations on the new job. Definitely the right decision to move on.

Congratulations Tory,

I really hope one of the organisations supporting women’s rights (Sex Matters?) is able to make use of the data/emails you have collected. You never know how many other women have contacted them about this particular university

Grats, OP! Sounds like a wonderful move.

So glad to hear this ToriaB and best of luck in your new role. I’m an academic too - I take heart from the fact that while bits of uni life are totally one sided, others are not. There are I think a much broader range of opinions on the issue of women’s and children’s rights than it might appear, mainly because ‘no debate’ (anachronistic in itself at university surely?) has chilled everything for so long. One issue is the HR departments, another is the union reps. I work across three different institutions, one is much more TRA heavy, the others not so significantly. Hope your new place is an easier, more supportive place to be.

Congratulations on the new job. I don’t think you have lost the battle, what you have done is tactically withdrawn from the battlefield having left some anti personnel weaponry behind that will eventually blow up in their faces. The seeds have been sown, the dragons teeth will grow into a legion of angry, hungry, dragons.

Bravo OP.

You're one of a couple of women on this board forced to jump ship from a job because of anti-women policies. Sadly I suspect that what will happen is that as all the balance and diversity of people on a team are pushed out for non compliance, it will become more polarised and there will be those completely anti-woman focused, and those with an awareness and open mindedness, and there will be the two separate sides. It's very sad that one side is capable of coping with inclusiveness and welcoming/accessible policies equally for all, including women, and the other side insists that only one group's needs must be met and all other groups' needs must be abandoned and if necessary, oppressed to enforce compliance.

It's happened with the LGBA and Stonewall. The pretence will be shouted about that 'everyone agrees with us, look! because we pushed out everyone who had any other opinions, insights or concerns' but it's getting more and more obviously a ridiculous claim.

I wish you the very best in your new job, I hope it's a much happier and safer place for women to be.

Congratulations on your new job. I hope the dean follows it and takes it further.

Congratulations on your new job!

Best of luck OP, great news! And thank you again for what you've done and will be doing!

An idea - Are you on your notice period still with your current employer?

Could you send one more email back, throwing a few more sticks into the fire - e.g. specifically naming religious discrimination (and maybe even racial discrimination at a stretch - I think Irish travellers, who are now considered distinct from the race discrimination point of view, have strong cultural rules about the other sex).