A U.K. employment tribunal ruled July 6 that Maya Forstater, a British tax expert, was a victim of direct discrimination when the think tank Centre for Global Development (CGD) refused to renew her contract following a series of tweets in which she questioned the government’s plans to allow people to self-identify as another gender.
The tribunal also decided that Forstater suffered victimization when her profile was removed from CGD’s website.
In 2019, an employment tribunal ruled that Forstater’s views on gender were not “worthy of respect in a democratic society” and were “incompatible with human dignity and [the] fundamental rights of others.”
But in 2021, an employment appeal tribunal ruled that “gender-critical” views were protected under the Equality Act 2010, overturning the previous ruling. The appeal tribunal then ordered a new employment tribunal to review the case.
The July 6 decision upheld the appeal ruling, noting that Forstater’s complaints of mistreatment by CGD under the Equality Act were “well-founded.”
A press summary explained that “[CDG’s] decisions not to offer Ms. Forstater a full contract of employment and not to renew her Visiting Fellowship were taken at least in part because of her belief, and therefore amounted to direct discrimination.”
The summary also made clear that “CGD had failed to provide an adequate explanation for the removal of Ms. Forstater’s profile from their website.”
Responding to the decision, Forstater said: “My case matters for everyone who believes in the importance of truth and free speech. We are all free to believe whatever we wish. What we are not free to do is compel others to believe the same thing, to silence those who disagree with us or to force others to deny reality.
“Human beings cannot change sex. It is not hateful to say that.
“We have had enough of being sidelined in language, law, policy and public spaces. This judgment is further evidence that the tide is turning,” she concluded.
“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling, who has been a staunch supporter of Forstater despite public backlash, also commented on the ruling:
“Every woman who’s been harassed, silenced, bullied or lost employment because of her gender critical beliefs is freer and safer today, thanks to the warrior that is Maya Forstater,” she tweeted.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
In 2019, a UK employment tribunal similarly made the controversial ruling that Dr. David Mackereth’s Christian beliefs on gender (Genesis 1:27) were “Incompatible with Human Dignity.”
According to the tribunal: ”Belief in Genesis 1:27, lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others, specifically here, transgender individuals. . . in so far as those beliefs form part of his wider faith, his wider faith also does not satisfy the requirement of being worthy of respect in a democratic society, not incompatible with human dignity and not in conflict with the fundamental rights of others.”
Ken Ham, the Founder and CEO of Answers In Genesis, at the time underscored that both the Bible and Biology declare the truth about gender.
“When it comes to the question of gender, God’s Word is clear, ‘So God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created them’ (Genesis 1:27). God has created humans male and female. Gender is not on a spectrum, men cannot become women, and women cannot become men, Ham wrote. “And that clear biblical teaching (which is also obvious from biology)—was accepted by nearly everyone until very recently.”
