A civil servant has described how a “huge weight has been lifted off” after winning a legal battle with her employers over her concerns on trans ideology.
Eleanor Frances, 39, resigned from her job in August 2023 after she continuously raised concerns that Whitehall had been “captured” by trans ideology contrary to the civil service’s commitment to impartiality.
Last week, she revealed that two departments had now promised to review their guidelines so employees would no longer be labelled “transphobic” for expressing gender-critical beliefs.
She was also paid a settlement of £1116,749 plus taxes.
Frances resigned from her job in August 2023 after she continuously raised concerns that Whitehall had been “captured” by trans ideology
Free Speech Union/ Eleanor Frances
Frances joined the civil service in 2019 where her role at the department for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) was in developing policy.
In 2021, after two years at the role, she started feeling uneasy with the fact that her department was accepting a view of identity in which gender overrode biological sex.
Her colleagues began putting their pronouns in their email signatures and a staff member sent their team a picture of a “gender bread person” intended to illustrate the complexities of identity.
She said: “There are two sides to the debate, but everywhere I looked, I could only see one. It was everywhere. There were blogs, strategies, and we were encouraged to participate in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) discussions in which the material was politicised.”
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Frances claimed her colleagues’ views began shaping how they developed policy, which could have implications for women’s sport.
“[Bosses] gave the impression that if you didn’t agree with it, you would need to be ‘educated’ — and that this was the only moral position to take,” she said.
The civil servant said she was worried she would be ostracised if she disagreed, however decided to tentatively raise the issue with her managers, after which she was advised not to attent EDI discussions if they made her uncomfortable.
In August 2022 Frances wanted to apply for a promotion, however knew she would have to be assessed by a panel of junior staff who were “self-selected as EDI champions”. They would assess her commitment to inclusion before reporting to the hiring manager.
She knew that if she were interviewed she would either have to misrepresent her opinions or make them known, calling it an “ideological litmus test.” She withdrew her application.
She said: “I didn’t think I could even say that some people think it’s impossible to change sex, and that’s a view worthy of respect. I didn’t feel I could stay silent any more.”
In autumn 2022 the DCMS adopted a gender identity policy after a workplace assesment by Stonewall.
She explained: “It wasn’t just blogs and discussions now, it was in formal policy. “It included that the definition of transphobia was the denial of someone’s gender identity. It placed the idea of inclusion above the protections that single-sex services offer to women.”
She said this was unfair on female staff, as the self-ID policy meant that biological males could use the women’s toilets.
“Single sex facilities had become mixed, so the department was adopting a position that made it worse to be a woman,” she said.
In December 2022, Frances escalated her concerns, writing to then cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who never replied.
DCMS opened an internal investigation and Frances found a witness, but the woman pulled out, worried she would lose her job.
Frances said that although the experience was draining, she received lots of support from outspoken figures such as MP Rosie Duffiels and campaigner Maya Forstater
PA
When Frances returned to work in 2023, she was told her department was being restructured. Her team was taken from her and the people who carried this out were the ones she had named in her complaint.
In April 2023, she decided to coordinate a letter from 42 other civil servants raising concerns, thinking that if more people spoke out they would finally take action.
However, three months later, when the civil service concluded its investigation, Frances said her arguments were “largely ignored”.
“One of the more bizarre arguments put forward was that if sharing pronouns was a breach of impartiality, then not sharing them was too,” she said. “And this is a complaint about HR and HR policies, but they put a member of HR as a coordinator for the investigation.”
She felt nothing would change, ultimately resigning from her job in August 2023.
Frances then made a claim for victimisation, unfair constructive dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of philosophical belief. The two parties ended up settling in December without liability.
In a statement, the permanent secretaries for DCMS and DSIT, Susannah Storey and Sarah Munby, said that the updated policy “will balance the rights of staff with different protected characteristics, including but not limited to gender reassignment, religion and belief, and sex”.
Frances said that although the experience was draining, she received lots of support from outspoken figures such as MP Rosie Duffiels and campaigner Maya Forstater.
“The support online has been astounding. I’ve been blown away by that. It has been humbling,” she said.
The Government said: “We are committed to fostering an inclusive working culture that allows civil servants to safely hold, voice, discuss or challenge any lawful perspective, without fear or favour.”
