Sex change and the law
by Philip
When I deliver equal opportunities training in house, most delegates readily see the need for legislation to outlaw sex discrimination in the workplace. They see that to discriminate against someone on grounds of gender is a mischief that needs snuffing out.
When the session moves on to discrimination on the grounds of gender re-assignment, the mood of the room changes to a mixture of puzzlement and bemusement with a liberal dose of sniggering coming from those attendeees who think that equal opportunities is for politically correct local authorities and not for people in business. Gender re-assignment is seen as so outre that some delegates cannot see the need for a law to deal with the issue.
The facts are, though, that you are far more likely to work alongside a person whose gender has been re-assigned than a lottery winner. Male to femal gender re-assignment runs at 1 per 40,000.00 in the UK, according to a 1973 study.
So for those not paying attention if your employer runs equal opportunities awareness sessions, this is the kind of messy Employment Tribunal you can end up with.
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A shame (though not a surprise) that the reporter refers to ‘industrial tribunal’ hearings. How long has it been now? Still very common.
Richard said at April 8th, 2008 at 4:33 pm