Officials have been told to state their preferred gender pronouns in meetings at the Ministry of Defence, where a civil servant acts as a trustee of Stonewall.
Dunni Alao was described as a “fierce proponent” of Stonewall’s agenda when she was announced as a trustee of the lobby group in June.
She is understood to be a civil servant at the MoD, which published an “inclusive language” guide, advising all service personnel, staff and contractors how to discuss sensitive subjects such as gender identity. The MoD denies Alao was involved in producing the guide.
The MoD guidance, which appears to lift some sentences verbatim from Stonewall’s glossary of terms, claims that “not all women are biologically female” and advises MoD staff to be careful using the word “female”, in case it “erases gender non-conforming people and members of the trans community”.
It also encouraged MoD personnel to publicise their preferred pronouns on their email signatures, on their social media profiles and at the start of meetings and presentations, in order to make their transgender and non-binary colleagues feel more comfortable.
Advertisement
“By respecting others’ pronouns, you recognise their sense of self and show you respect their gender identity,” said the guide, published by the MoD diversity and inclusion directorate.
The guide continued: “For a cisgender person [whose gender aligns with the sex registered at birth] the risk of sharing your pronouns is minimal. For a transgender or non-binary person, sharing pronouns can be riskier, sparking lengthy conversations or outing a person to their colleagues before they are ready. Cisgender people sharing their pronouns normalises this process and can have a big impact.”
Sharing pronouns originated as a gesture of solidarity with the transgender community but it has become politicised as the conflict continues between those who believe that a person’s self-declared gender identity should be prioritised over biological sex, and others who believe this threatens women’s single-sex spaces such as refuges, changing rooms and prisons.
The MoD confirmed this week that it had paid Stonewall £80,312 over five years, mainly on fees for the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force to join Stonewall’s diversity champions programme.
The MoD declined to say if permission was necessary for civil servants to support a lobby group.
Advertisement
The government said it had “committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the civil service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions. Memberships of external schemes are kept under review, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money.”
Stonewall said: “It is perfectly normal for people from all walks of life to be charity trustees and manage their different responsibilities. We are proud of all our trustees and their contribution.”
