The Scottish Civil Service is pushing a range of controversial Stonewall policies, a freedom of information (FOI) response has revealed.
A number of new policies have been introduced in the last few years, as the Civil Service has applied for a place on Stonewall’s ‘Diversity Champions Index’.
These include a compulsory “Diversity Objective” for all staff to make the Scottish Government “a more diverse and inclusive place to work”, training on “intersectionality” and “unconscious bias”, and the use of gender-neutral language.
In the FOI response, the Civil Service said that most of its policies “were updated to increase inclusion of gender identities and same-sex couples because we believe firmly that it matters that our policies are explicit about everyone’s entitlement to use them”.
The paternity leave policy was one of those amended to remove reference to male and female colleagues, and changed terminology from “adoptive father” to “adoptive parent”.
The documents also state that ‘non-binary’ employees should be able to use the title ‘Mx’.
The Civil Service said it intends to revise its transgender and non-binary policies, part of which would involve collaborating with Stonewall Scotland and the Scottish Trans Alliance to draw up HR guidance for the Scottish Government.
It is also intended that guidance for members of staff who have a child who is transitioning or who identifies as non-binary will be co-produced by controversial lobby group Mermaids.
The Civil Service added there would be a ‘communications and engagement plan’ “to ensure knowledge of the policy and accompanying parental guidance is widespread throughout the organisation”.
Commenting on the policies, Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute, said: “The extent of Stonewall’s influence on the Civil Service is alarming, particularly given the controversial nature of some of its political aims.
“Stonewall’s stance on trans issues is strongly opposed by women’s organisations, medics and faith groups. Yet, the Civil Service appears to endorse it wholesale. How does this fit with the Service’s duty to remain politically impartial?”
He continued: “Staff are encouraged to attend training sessions on ‘intersectionality’ and ‘unconscious bias’. These controversial ideas are disputed in wider society. So it’s concerning that they are written into the training schedule for Civil Service employees.
“The compulsory ‘Diversity Objective’ also raises questions. What happens to staff members who hold religious beliefs about marriage, gender or sexuality which differ from those championed by Stonewall? Are they marked down? This could constitute direct discrimination on the grounds of religious belief.”