“A moment of clarity - and of care.” ~ Alex Mahon, CEO of Channel 4
Hi all.
This is an 'out of schedule' newsletter reacting to last week's UK Supreme Court ruling that, under the Equality Act 2010, the terms "man" and "woman" refer exclusively to biological sex assigned at birth. This means that trans women (assigned male at birth) are not legally recognised as women, and trans men (assigned female at birth) are not legally recognised as men under this Act, regardless of whether they possess a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
This has implications for access to single-sex spaces such as toilets and hospital wards. And institutions like the British Transport Police are updating their policies around conducting searches based on sex assigned at birth.
This news is devastating for the trans community and their allies, whilst, for some women, it is an assertion of their rights and their safety concerns. It is important to note that Lord Hodge underlined this shouldn't be seen as a win for one group over the other and that trans rights are still protected under the Equality Act.
Our hope is that this ruling can bring dialogue. There has to be a way of honouring everyone's human rights - and we haven't found it yet. We searched high and low for a quote to kick this newsletter off which illustrated that point and couldn't find it. Alex Mahon at Channel 4 was the only person we saw holding the space for everybody's feelings at this time.
But before anything like dialogue can happen, we need to recognise how fearful some of the most marginalised people in our communities are feeling right now, and how their lives just got immeasurably harder. It is probably more important than ever to signal to your trans colleagues, and all those that will be affected by the ruling, that they matter, that they belong and that they will be cared for in your organisations.
Here are some ideas on how your organisation can illustrate allyship for your colleagues and the trans community as a whole.
1. Communicate a Clear, Pro‑Trans Stance: Ask a member of your leadership team to send company-wide communication acknowledging the ruling's impact on trans people, restating zero tolerance for discrimination and providing suggestions of support resources.
2. Mental Health Support: Provide coaching or counselling support for those that are feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about the ruling. Or even just provide a listening and empathetic ear.
3. Hold a Trans-rights event: Compile a panel of trans speakers to discuss and share personal experiences in the wake of the ruling. This can also be an opportunity to hear how you can better support those affected by it.
4. Share Trans Creativity: Research and share information on trans artists, authors, musicians and speakers across the organisation and ask your colleagues to do the same.
5. Allyship Training: Provide training on allyship - understanding microaggressions, and how to recognise them and call them out, will make it possible for better allyship and create a work environment that supports inclusion and psychological safety.
6. Pronouns: Reiterate the importance of adding pronouns to online meeting profiles, email signatures etc.
7. Fundraising: Hold a Pride Month fundraiser with the proceeds going to trans support charities. Consider matching every pound raised by colleagues to donate.
We'd love to hear from you about how your organisation is stepping up its support for trans people.
Take care of yourselves and hug each other tightly.
Team THC xx