Reader in Financial Mathematics at King's College London. Also interested in academic freedom and a more sane approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Apr 3 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
Quite the thread on King's College London is doing on meeting its legal requirements to monitor diversity data on sex.
It raises one often overlooked point. It is Advance HE not Stonewall that is primarily responsible for UK Higher Education not collecting data on sex. 🧵
It was the publication of Advance HE's 2016 document "Trans staff and students in HE and colleges: improving experiences" that resulted in most universities stopping collecting data on sex.
Mar 28 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The policy document that cost Sussex £585,000 was based on a template created by Advance HE (or the ECU as it was then).
Advance HE dominate university EDI. They run the Athena Swan scheme which was meant to promote women in science but now promotes tampons in the gents. 1/4
Participation in the Athena Swan scheme is seen by most universities as a panacea for "gender" inequality. Since the scheme was founded in 2005, the rights of women in UK universities have collapsed. Feminism is now only allowed if it is deemed sufficiently "intersectional". 2/4
Feb 18 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
In the next round of university assessment of research quality (the REF), all universities will be judged on EDI.
The architect of this proposal is Stephen Curry of Imperial who as the EDI lead at Imperial worked to impose gender-identity ideology on all staff. 1/4
Imperial exemplifies the capture of university EDI by men's rights activists.
In 2023/24 only 19% of professors at Imperial are female, the lowest female representation of any Russell Group university. Next worst is Cambridge at 26%. 2/4
Sep 19, 2024 • 16 tweets • 2 min read
My new paper with @ProfAliceS on the Athena Swan scheme, a scheme intended to promote gender equality in higher education.
My new paper published today looks at attempts by the Quality Assurance Association for Higher Education (QAA) to impose ideas from "critical pedagogy" across university curricula in the UK, and looks at what happens if you follow their advice... 🧵
bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/be…
The QAA insists that all university subject areas cover Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education (EEE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Dec 21, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Which is more important sex or gender identity?
In a study published today we used data on non-binary athletes' performance in road races to compare the power of gender-identity theory and gender-critical theory. kcl.ac.uk/news/indicator…
It is generally accepted that sports performance depends on a mixture of biological and social factors. According to gender-identity theory, gender-identity is much more important than sex in determining almost all outcomes and this should include mass participation sport.
Nov 7, 2023 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
Why Jo Grady is misunderstanding the academic freedom argument 🧵
In Ireland, to receive research funding universities must agree that "individuals have the right to determine and affirm their gender".
This flies in the face of academic freedom, but by putting together a panel of identitarians, UKRI was setting the UK up to head the same way.
Oct 23, 2023 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Mathematicians are coming under pressure to "decolonise mathematics". But what could this even mean?
In our new paper, posted today on the maths Arxiv, we review the literature on decolonising mathematics to find out. 🧵
arxiv.org/abs/2310.13594
The common theme we found is that we should teach mathematics and science are just "one way of knowing" which should not be seen as superior to other such as faith and tradition. Many authors we studied go much further and even claim that maths and science were created to oppress
Mar 26, 2023 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
🧵The research I wished to conduct into athletes' views on trans inclusion has been blocked by the King's College London (KCL) ethics committee. The letter rejecting the application stated that by using the word "males" I was misgendering athletes. telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/2…
The proposal began: "The principle aim of the project is to find the views of athletes and volunteers on the question of when males should be allowed to compete in the female category in athletics."
This sentence was not even part of the proposed survey.
Nov 15, 2022 • 16 tweets • 5 min read
NHS Health England Education are making a dramatically political statement about trans rights. This is bad for female patients who value their privacy and dignity. But in this thread I want to consider the impact upon employees. 🧵
The NHS HEE statement reveals that they advise their staff to be "trans allies". But what does it take to be an ally. Here are some examples from their document "How to be a trans ally"
Nov 7, 2022 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
I and a number of colleagues have written an open letter objecting to attempts to politicise mathematics degrees by requiring them to take a 'decolonized' perspective. 🧵
timeshighereducation.com/news/professor…
The QAA subject benchmark for mathematics, statistics and operational research (MSOR) is intended to provide a common understanding of what students can expect from a UK degree in these areas
and what employers, and wider society, can expect these students to learn.
May 24, 2020 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
1/ It’s not normal for a company CEO to email all staff tell them there are certain views they should not express. But that’s what Guy Goodwin (@GuyNatCen) of @NatCen did over sex and the census.
2/ Companies like NatCen have policies on their employees communications that let them know the boundaries on how they may engage in public debate without risking the companies reputation for impartiality.
