Thanks all – I really appreciate the appreciation. It’s been severely testing at times – there were moments I genuinely thought we might never see the tide turn, or at least not in our generation. And in the meantime, Mumsnet risked being permanently labelled as bigoted, vicious, and ‘on the wrong side of history’.
A fair number of organisations pulled their advertising under pressure from activists – both internal and external. I’m sure there were many more we never heard from who simply steered clear. Commercial partnerships became noticeably harder to secure. The low point was discovering we’d been blacklisted on instruction from the top brass at Barclays – just weeks before their CEO resigned over concealing ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
When we included a call to clarify the definition of sex in the Equality Act in our 2024 Mumsnet Manifesto, Ocado – who had been excited about a partnership – abruptly pulled out, citing Mumsnet’s “hateful political views”. Despite repeated attempts to explain our position – as a platform committed to amplifying women’s voices – they’ve refused to speak to us ever since.
Nonetheless, even in the darkest moments, when I feared the site might not survive, we never considered banning discussion of this issue altogether. That would have been completely contrary to what Mumsnet is about: a space for mothers to talk about what matters to them. We’ve always believed in the power of respectful, open discussion – especially on difficult topics. And again and again, users have told us that Mumsnet has helped them change their minds, or at least understand a different point of view.
That spirit is what inspired our This Is My Child campaign back in 2013, prompted by a thread where a mother described her own child’s disruptive behaviour – and then explained he had additional needs, and what it was like to parent under constant public judgment. The discussion that followed was one of the most powerful we’ve hosted – and helped many people see things differently.
On the issue of women’s rights, I know some felt we policed conversations too tightly at times. But please remember the pressure we were under. A single sentence, taken out of context and amplified by activists on social media, could result in advertisers – already jittery, particularly during Covid – disappearing overnight and without the advertising we simply cannot cover our running costs and the site would have folded. We were also aware that some activists, posing as users, were deliberately trying to bait others into saying something that could be used to damage us.
So a big well done to everyone on here who played a part in securing what I think most would agree is much-needed clarity in the Equality Act. As ever, we’re in awe of the intelligence, tenacity and resilience of Mumsnet users.