Mandatory Training contortions!

[FluffyCat17]

So today I had to do my annual Equality & Diversity training which my work buys in.

Going through the protected characteristics we get to sex. Sex is apparently ascribed (note not assigned anymore) at birth and tends to go on physical characteristics only, so doesn’t take into account the rest of what defines sex, such as feelings. Pardon? Also the protected characteristic includes male, female and anyone who plans to/is/has undergone gender reassignment. Conflation much?!

There were already two chapters on protecting those who have gone through Gender Reassignment and using pronouns so as not to cause harm. But they made it into the sex category as well.

Last year it wasn’t so bad, there was a bit of gender woo presented as fact but this year it’s actually worse. Last year I felt my belief that woo is woo was protected too. This year not so much.

There was a lot of shouting at the screen but I ploughed on to get my worthless certificate.

Waiting for similar nonsense at my work 🙄

Had this at my workplace recently too. Online training. I helpfully noted in the feedback form that "gender identity" was not a protected characteristic, but sex was. It will be ignored of course.

Ascribed?! That makes even less sense than assigned.

Mandatory training is soul destroying at the best of time, but this sounds way worse than normal. I fear ours will go the same way. Though at least the trust breastfeeding policy repeated references women and mothers, so not totally captured.

What are you going to do with your shiny new certificate, @FluffyCat17?

I hear they make excellent dart boards.

I don’t think I shall waste ink printing it out 😉

Depressingly, I've heard CIPD are doing this mandatory trans awareness training for their staff.

CIPD are supposedly experts in diversity, equality and HR so it's bad news they have been captured.

Always worth feeding back with a polite reminder that women have the right to privacy and dignity at work.

I did my EDI training last year just before they were going to make it mandatory. I pointed out to my boss that it was legally wrong. The training was not made mandatory