[UK] DWP abandons Stonewall diversity plan

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has become the latest UK government department to withdraw from the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme, The Times reports.

The scheme was launched in 2001, under it public bodies and private companies pay subscription fees to Stonewall in return for support and advice on diversity.

However, the level of influence the charity had on shaping organisations’ internal policies has sparked concerns about independence.

Critics, including some feminist campaigners, say Stonewall encourages policies which have the potential to be threatening, such as allowing access to women-only spaces for people who were born male and identify as transgender women.

In May 2021, Liz Truss - the then equalities minister - urged all departments to pull out of Stonewall schemes, questioning whether they provided value for money.

Government bodies that have severed ties with Stonewall over the past year include the Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department of Health and Social Care.

The BBC also withdrew from the scheme in 2021, saying it raised questions about whether it could be impartial on issues that the charity was campaigning about.

The DWP said the government “has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the civil service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions”.

In a statement, Stonewall said, “Our Diversity Champions programme is voluntary and designed to support organisations to create more inclusive workplaces for their LGBTQ+ employees. Organisations can participate depending on what’s best for their inclusion journey at the time.”

Naomi Cunningham - a barrister and chair of the feminist think tank Sex Matters - said, “Stonewall schemes are designed to reach deeply into every aspect of the client organisations’ operations - including, in the case of public bodies, their performance of their public functions.

“It is wholly improper for any public body to be signed up as a Stonewall member or to submit to Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index.”

Source: The Times

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has become the latest UK government department to withdraw from the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme, The Times reports.

The scheme was launched in 2001, under it public bodies and private companies pay subscription fees to Stonewall in return for support and advice on diversity.

However, the level of influence the charity had on shaping organisations’ internal policies has sparked concerns about independence.

Critics, including some feminist campaigners, say Stonewall encourages policies which have the potential to be threatening, such as allowing access to women-only spaces for people who were born male and identify as transgender women.

In May 2021, Liz Truss - the then equalities minister - urged all departments to pull out of Stonewall schemes, questioning whether they provided value for money.

Government bodies that have severed ties with Stonewall over the past year include the Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department of Health and Social Care.

The BBC also withdrew from the scheme in 2021, saying it raised questions about whether it could be impartial on issues that the charity was campaigning about.

The DWP said the government “has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the civil service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions”.

In a statement, Stonewall said, “Our Diversity Champions programme is voluntary and designed to support organisations to create more inclusive workplaces for their LGBTQ+ employees. Organisations can participate depending on what’s best for their inclusion journey at the time.”

Naomi Cunningham - a barrister and chair of the feminist think tank Sex Matters - said, “Stonewall schemes are designed to reach deeply into every aspect of the client organisations’ operations - including, in the case of public bodies, their performance of their public functions.

“It is wholly improper for any public body to be signed up as a Stonewall member or to submit to Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index.”

Source: The Times

(Link and quotes via original reporting)