User:Trinkt der Bauer und fährt Traktor/Maya Forstater

Maya Forstater v Centre for Global Development (2019) is case brought by Mayer Forstater against her former employer the Centre for Global Development (CGD) where she was a visiting fellow. Her consulting contract for CGD was not renewed due to a series of transphobic social media messages which she challenged at the Central London Employment Tribunal. Judge James Tayler ruled that her views were “incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others” and that her 'gender critical' views did “not have the protected characteristic of philosophical belief”. under the UK Equality Act 2010.

Messages
In 2018 Forstater shared a series of messages on Twitter which led to CGDs decision to not renew her contract.

She tweeted her opposition to proposed changes to the U.K.'s Gender Recognition Act, referring to transgender women as 'males' which the judge in the case later found to be restricted under the Equality Act 2010.


 * 1) “I share the concerns of @fairplaywomen that radically expanding the legal definition of 'women' so that it can include both males and females makes it a meaningless concept, and will undermine women’s rights & protections for vulnerable women & girls."
 * 2) "Some transgender people have cosmetic surgery. But most retain their birth genitals. Everyone's equality and safety should be protected, but women and girls lose out on privacy, safety and fairness if males are allowed into changing rooms, dormitories, prisons, sports teams.”

Forstater also created tweets which misgendered Credit Suisse senior director Pips Bunce, referring to her as "a man who likes to express himself part of the week by wearing a dress,” "a part-time cross dresser" and "a white man who likes to dress in women’s clothes.” She continued to share her transphobic views including that 'the use of proper pronouns was equivalent to the use of the date rape drug rohypnol' during and after CGDs investigation which led to her contract not being renewed.

Investigation and non renewal of contract
Forstater had been working at CGD since January 2015. In early October 2018, staff members at the Centre for Global Development complained to management about Forstater's messages on Twitter and in a private Discord channel and an investigation began. In December 2018 her contract expired and was not renewed. In March 2019 she sued CDG for not renewing her contract.

Tribunal
Fostater challenged her contract not being renewed at the Central London Employment Tribunal on 15 March 2019. She claimed her "gender critical views are a philosophical belief" protected by section 10 of the 2010 Equality Act. As part of her complaint she stated "No change of clothes or hairstyle, no plastic surgery, no accident or illness, no course of hormones, no force of will or social conditioning, no declaration can turn a female person into a male, or a male person into a female.”

The respondents in the case were CGD Europe, Centre for Global Development and Masood Ahmed.

On the 19th December 2019 Judge James Tayler published a 26-page judgement which found that the non renewal of her contract was fair and that her view was “incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others”.

Judge Tayler found that she was not entitled to ignore the trangender people's legal rights and the “enormous pain that can be caused by misgendering a person”. He concluded "Ms Forstater’s position is that even if a trans woman has a GRC (Gender Recognition Certificate), she cannot honestly describe herself as a woman. That belief is not worthy of respect in a democratic society." and that "people cannot expect to be protected if their core belief involves violating others’ dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for them."

Judge Tayler found that Forstater 'absolutist' beliefs satisfied the first four limbs of the Grainger v Nicholson (2009) with some reservations about its 'cogency and coherence’, he found it failed the fifth limb, that it was 'worthy of respect in a democratic society'.

Reaction to the tribunal findings
Upon losing the case Forstater stated that the judgment ‘removes women’s rights and the right to freedom of belief and speech'.

Louise Rea, a solicitor Bates Wells which advised CGD stated that Judge Talyer had "observed that the claimant was not entitled to ignore the legal rights of a person who has transitioned from male to female or vice versa". and that "It is the fact that her belief necessarily involves violating the dignity of others which means it is not protected under the Equality Act 2010."

After the ruling author J.K. Rowling shared a message on Twitter supporting Forstater, incorrectly summarising the question the tribunal asked as 'sex is real'. “Dress however you please... call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill”