Thread by @Sexnotgender_

Hi @TheGreenParty @carla_denyer @AdrianRamsay @EHRC @EHRCChair @KishwerFalkner @trussliz @GEOgovuk

Your jobs page says you pride yourself "on being an Equal Opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from those who identify...

greenparty.org.uk/jobs/ 1/22

...under one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010" and you (almost) correctly list the nine protected characteristics:

race
age
disability
gender reassignment
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation
marriage and civil partnership
pregnancy 2/22

I note the EHRC guidance on gathering information of these protected characteristics:

Good equality practice for employers: equality policies, equality training and monitoring

equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/… 3/22

Many of the protected characteristics - such as age, sex, pregnancy - are not characteristics that can a person can 'identify' with as you state. 4/22

Your job application asks "Some questions to help with equal opportunity" and talks about "making hiring fair" and "fighting bias". 5/22

You then ask questions on:

GENDER
AGE
BROAD ETHNICITY
SEXUALITY
DISABILITY
PARENTS
SCHOOL MEALS

These do not correlate with the protected characteristics you previously listed. 6/22

In particular, you do not ask about the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, even though you listed it as one.

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/… 7/22

You ask for "GENDER" with options:

Man
Woman
Non-binary

'Gender' is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and is not defined in the Act and not in your list.

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/… 8/22

Sex is the protected characteristic and the only two possible options for sex are 'Female' and 'Male' as defined in the Act and consistent with biology, but you don't ask for that.

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/…

'Gender' is not a synonym for sex. 9/22

As female/woman and male/man are the terms in the Act relating to the protected characteristic of sex, using them for some other question can only be confusing. 'Non-binary' is not a sex. 10/22

See also: ‘Gender’ is not a protected characteristic, admits EHRC

sexnotgender.info/gender-is-not-…

'Gender' and similar terms rely on demeaning, regressive stereotypical notions of societal roles for the two sexes, concepts with which I'm sure you would not wish to be associated. 11/22

I also note that the EHRC (who use the same beapplied platform), in their own recruitment equality monitoring, ask for the sex of applicants with options of female and male. This would appear to be a good model to follow. 12/22

Asking about a personal characteristic such as 'gender' that is not a protected characteristic under the Act, may be in breach of the UK GDPR by processing personal - and potentially Special Category - data without a lawful basis. 13/22

The Government provides a list of the personal data an employer may hold about an employee without their permission that you might also find useful. 'Gender' does not appear on that list, but sex does.

gov.uk/personal-data-… 14/22

The EHRC state that information about a person's 'transgender status' is Special Category personal information under the UK GDPR. Sex is not, so conflating sex and 'gender' as you do may cause issues in processing the information lawfully.

equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication… 15/22

If you choose not to gather data on specific protected characteristics (such as sex), you cannot have the information required to ascertain whether or not you could be discriminating on protected characteristics in recruitment. This could be vital in an employment tribunal 16/22

If you choose to discriminate on characteristics (such as 'gender') that are not protected characteristics under the Act, you may inadvertently indirectly discriminate on protected characteristics. 17/22

You might also like to take note of what employment and discrimination Barrister Akua Reindorf said in her report for the University of Essex and in particular Recommendation 18:

cloisters.com/reindorf-revie… 18/22

I would also suggest you read this report that highlights the risks and dangers (both reputational and legal) of relying on and processing inaccurate, misleading or downright wrong information about protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

sex-matters.org/posts/updates/… 19/22

Language and meaning of words are important and proper use & understanding of terms is vital so that the public is aware of what rights they have and what your duties are. Any confusion or inconsistency over meaning may prevent people from accessing their rights in law. 20/22

I raised similar issues with you several months ago but you did not respond:

https://twitter.com/Sexnotgender_/status/1431393619655733257

21/22

Will you undertake to correct these errors and to review all your other policies, documents, reports, etc to ensure compliance?

I would be grateful for your response this time.

sexnotgender.info/list

@threadreaderapp unroll 22/22