Jo Phoenix vs The OU - Judgement - 7 out of 10 Claims judged as well founded!

[IwantToRetire]

The unanimous judgment of the Tribunal is as follows:

1. The Claimant’s claim for indirect discrimination is dismissed upon withdrawal.
2. The complaints of direct discrimination because of the Claimant’s gender critical beliefs under issues 2(c) and 2(d) are well founded.
3. The complaint of direct discrimination or harassment under issue 2(b) is out of time and is dismissed.
4. The complaints of direct discrimination or harassment under issues 2(f) and (q) and (s) are not well founded and are dismissed.
5. The complaints of harassment related to the Claimant’s gender critical beliefs under issues 2 (a), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p), (r) are well founded.
6. The Claimant’s complaint of constructive unfair dismissal is well founded.
7. The Claimant’s claim for wrongful dismissal is well founded.
8. The Claimant’s claim for post employment victimisation is well founded.
9. The Claimant’s claim for post employment discrimination under issue 2(s) is not well founded and is dismissed. Case No: 3322700/2021 & 3323841/2021 2
10. The Claimant’s claim for post employment harassment under issue 8 in respect of issue 2(k) is well founded.
11. The parties will be sent a listing stencil requiring their dates to avoid in respect of the listing of a remedies hearing.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ae82d58bbe95000e5eb1f7/Ms_J_Pheonix_v_The_Open_University_3322700.2021___other_FMH_Reserved_Judgment.pdf

Please note I am just posting this as a Good News News Flash, to let as many as possible know.

There is an existing thread discussing the case as it happened and now the judgement https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4923923-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-8

Well done Jo and everyone who has supported her and worked to help with the legal case.

Congratulations, your win is a win for all of us!

Joan Smith in Unherd

The judgment comes only days after a report by the Committee for Academic Freedom revealed that nine universities have policies under which academics who don’t believe that transwomen are women are considered “transphobic”. They include Imperial College, Sheffield Hallam University and the London Business School.

Such policies are clearly in conflict with both the right to free expression and the intellectually curious atmosphere that should exist in higher education. They are further evidence of the way in which trans lobbyists have degraded basic rights in one institution after another, forcing people to accept transparent nonsense about “gender identity”.

https://unherd.com/thepost/jo-phoenix-wins-tribunal-case-over-gender-critical-views/

I'm delighted to see this - congratulations to Jo! I met her at Filia in Portsmouth and she was lovely :)

Media coverage:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/22/open-university-academic-wins-tribunal-case-over-gender-critical-views

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/22/open-university-gender-critical-jo-phoenix-tribunal/
(Use https://archive.ph/dQxdm)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12993879/former-open-university-professor-racist-uncle-wins-harassment-case.html

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/open-university-failed-protect-gender-critical-professor

Thank you for links.

Nice work from Haroon Siddique in the Graun piece, picking up the gap between the LGB and the TQ+. Even if he does miss out the juicier parts of the judgement.

A statement from Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University regarding the recent employment tribunal judgment
https://ounews.co/around-ou/ou-speaks-out/a-statement-from-professor-tim-blackman-vice-chancellor-of-the-open-university-regarding-the-recent-employment-tribunal-judgment/

Personally over the moon about this - am a [mature] PhD student looking at the depiction of mothers in crime fiction, with a focus on mothering ND kids. Have, frankly, been crapping myself that I would hit a wall on my use of ‘mother’ when it got to submission/viva stage. Once upon a time my project would have simply come under ‘gender studies’ and the nature of a ‘mother’ would not have been contentious.

@IwantToRetire That seems like a reasonably good response as a generic posting to the world. Focused on academic freedom not on the usual weasel words about how important it was to be trying to push the line for the benefit of another world view, or a promise that LGBTQ+ people remain THE priority despite the ruling, etc.

This seems like a good statement to me. Cannot see how they can appeal, but we will see

That's quite the change of tone in 4 days. Suggests they (or at least their lawyers) did read the whole judgement.

Wow, those Universities will be committing direct discrimination against an awful lot of staff and students. I'm sure a lot of the people in the science faculties for a start. The lawyers should get a class action going.....

I actually know some gc (so far undercover) academics, will have to nudge them with the idea of legal action. They certainly haven't felt fee to speak the truth about biology for years. Which does matter for their academic freedom.

It's of tremendous importance that the OU appoints appropriate independent reviewers of their "internal working environment". No affiliations with Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence, or the Usual Suspects. Certainly not the investigators that the Centre for Global Development used (the ones who emphasised the importance of not letting Maya speak as 'she knows her stuff').

Not Helena Kennedy.

I hope that the OU announces the reviewers in the near future. I'd like it to be a set of people in whom we can all repose confidence.