Former Arts Council England (ACE) staff member Afreena Islam-Wright won a tribunal in Manchester against ACE for unfair dismissal, after she resigned while being investigated for comments she made supporting trans rights. She will receive a payout from the Council, the value of which is still undecided.
In May 2022 a petition was circulated among ACE staff to oppose a £9,000 grant to the LGB Alliance, a trans-exclusionary British advocacy group that campaigns for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals while opposing gender identity.
Islam-Wright, then diversity manager at ACE, added comments to the petition, stating: ‘If I came to work one day, and attended a drop-in session where staff members were openly making racist statements, and asking [ACE] what protection would be offered to them as race critical staff members – I would feel terrified.’
‘I can’t imagine what my trans and [non-binary] colleagues are feeling right now. I’m very concerned that gender critical staff members make funding decisions, and believe it is of the utmost importance that trans awareness training is delivered and also training about our public sector equality duty – it shouldn’t be taken as given that everyone comes to work with no discriminatory views.’
‘We can’t necessarily “train” people out of being transphobic, but we can make it clear that we don’t tolerate transphobia – by not tolerating it.’
An internal investigation was launched following a complaint from fellow ACE member of staff Denise Fahmy, who won a separate tribunal over the same issue after claiming she was harassed by colleagues for her beliefs on trans-related issues. In an initial review, Islam-Wright’s comments were identified as equating gender critical beliefs to racism and creating a ‘hostile environment for colleagues with different views’.
Islam-Wright resigned in September 2022 saying her situation at ACE had become untenable, before taking the Council to the tribunal for unfair dismissal and victimisation. The latter claim has been dismissed.
Judge Rhodri McDonald, who oversaw the tribunal, ruled in Islam-Wright’s favour, saying that ‘it seems to us clear that [she] had no intention to cause hurt, was motivated solely to support trans and non-binary colleagues and was genuinely unclear about the nature and extent of protection for beliefs such as gender critical views under the Equality Act 2010.’
