1/ FAO @ucl and @ucl_ucu colleagues. There is an EGM Thursday 12 August 2021, 13:00-14:00 to discuss USS. A motion calling for UCL to rejoin the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme has been added to the agenda at the last minute.
2/ This is a clear attempt to pass a divisive motion with inadequate notice while many members are away during August. I hope some members will be able to attend to challenge these underhand tactics.
3/ In the wake of the Reindorf review, universities and UCU need to reflect on the legal and ethical implications of Stonewall membership. There are consequences for both academic freedom and equitable treatment of women staff and students. sex-matters.org/posts/the-work…
4/ Stonewall’s demand for unquestioning acceptance of the beliefs of the gender identity lobby has wide-ranging implications across the human and social sciences and humanities. The conflict with academic freedom is fundamental onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…
5/ Colleagues at Cardiff who wrote a measured letter sites.google.com/view/cardiffop… requesting a review of Stonewall membership faced violent threats as a result. Stonewall have not condemned these threats. Neither have UCU.
6/ Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall likens "gender critical" beliefs to anti-Semitism. The core tenets of the beliefs that she objects to are that sex is real and that it matters. The only motivation for this crass comparison is to justify #nodebatethejc.com/news/uk/anger-…
7/ Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall, no-platformed me from a research methods seminar for arguing that sex should be measured accurately in the 2021 Census. doi.org/10.1111/1467-9…
8/ UCL UCU has existing policy on academic freedom. Stonewall membership clashes fundamentally with this. For our union to thrive, it must be a pluralist space, where harassment and bullying are never tolerated, even when the targets are people you disagree with.
9/ Why force a motion on Stonewall through as a confected “emergency”, during August, which makes the movers appear unprincipled and opportunistic? Instead, UCU could organise a meeting to discuss the issues raised collegially and with adequate time. I would be happy to help.
Trade unionists should think twice before supporting an org that tries to get workers fired. Stonewall lobbied to have barrister Allison Bailey disciplined by her chambers because of her advocacy for lesbians. @UCL_UCU@ucuatioefilia.org.uk/latest-news/20…
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1/ The idea of non-binary passports could seem trivial. But this is part of a campaign to remove sex as a category in law and data collection. This was clear in the recent battle over sex in the census. ihttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f728d27a-e28b-11eb-a821-58982b1c936d
2/ The argument was initially accepted by the Methodological Assurance Review Panel that the sex marker on documents issued by the state, such as passports, must be seen as valid for the purposes of the census. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…
3/ Yet when the passports office decided to allow people to change the sex marker on their passport without a change of legal sex, there was no parliamentary scrutiny of this decision, and no discussion of wider implications for data collection.
1/ Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall likens "gender critical" beliefs to anti-Semitism. The core tenets of the beliefs that she objects to are that sex is real and that it matters. The only motivation for this crass comparison is to justify #nodebatebbc.co.uk/news/uk-572814…
2/ Recall that Nancy Kelley was involved in no-platforming me for arguing that sex should be measured accurately in the 2021 Census. thetimes.co.uk/article/stonew…
3/ The reason gender identity extremists invoke anti-Semitism, fascism and Holocaust-denial is simply so that they can bring "no platform for fascists" into play. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…
1/ Good to see @acas has withdrawn from the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme. ACAS collects data on the gender pay gap, and all employers with over 250 staff must report this. But they advise firms to collect data on gender identity, not sex thetimes.co.uk/article/stonew…
2/ and people who identify as "non-binary" are omitted from the data. Yet "gender pay gap" reporting was intended to monitor discrimination based on sex. spectator.co.uk/article/Corona…
3/ At the level of the firm, even small numbers of cases misclassified or omitted can skew the data substantially. We need accurate data on sex, and data on gender reassignment (a distinct protected characteristic) could be collected additionally. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
1/ UCU free speech survey🧵. It is not good practice to invite people to take part in a survey by telling them what their views should be. One likely effect is to dissuade those who disagree with you from participating, thus biasing the results.
2/ Questions are highly disclosive, taken together they would give a high risk of identifiability. Although questions are optional, this isn't made clear. Given that the ruling faction in the union is hostile to some members, leading to low trust, these considerations are
3/ important. Some reassurance should have been provided that the data and analysis would be handled independently, both to ensure ethical treatment of the data and impartial data analysis.
2/ 80 quantitative social scientists wrote to the census authorities explaining our concerns. The arguments and scientific consensus could not have been clearer. parliament.scot/General%20Docu…
2/ We often hear it claimed that there is no such thing as a crisis in academic freedom, cancel culture is a myth, etc. This paper demonstrates that there is a serious problem with academic freedom regarding the ability to discuss sex, gender and gender identity.
3/ The problem is fundamental and far-reaching. Inevitably so, given that sex is a vital concept across the human and social sciences and the humanities. Gender identity extremists are succeeding in making it difficult for academics to talk about and collect data on sex.