Is it unlawful to refuse to use?
Preferred pronouns in higher education institutions in Ireland
It has been an extraordinarily busy few weeks. Along with the usual career workload, household duties, family and friends, I have been juggling interviews and research, and writing emails to various ministers and government departments asking questions about elements of a new ‘Gender Identity and Expression Policy’ that was officially launched in an Irish technological university in early October.
The crazy days kicked off when Irish Times Education Editor, Carl O’Brien, interviewed me about my objection to that policy. His article was published on Thursday 5th October and that piece became, for a time, the most read article on the newspaper’s website.
There were various other articles written in other publications, including one by Matt Treacy on Gript, and a few radio stations requested interviews. I was trying to balance being in the limelight with a wish to go undercover and underground into autumnal hibernation mode. One interview I did decide to do was with Damien Tiernan of the local radio station here in Waterford - WLRfm. I have known Damien for years - from back when I myself was a broadcast journalist - and, in addition, I used to work in WLRfm prior to my career in academia and I still have great memories of the people and the place there.
The interview was pre-recorded so I was slightly nervous as I was aware it could be edited to portray me unfairly. Damien gave me a good grilling. He started easy but then went for the jugular. His hard-hitting and challenging questions gave me a chance to articulate the truth of my position. I appreciate him speaking to me. The audio of that interview is here:
Fintan O’Toole of the Irish Times decided to tackle the topic of preferred pronouns last week and his piece was published on Tuesday October 10th. I was floored by it because O’Toole, despite his experience and intellect, had misrepresented my views and had left out the hugely important detail that I myself am happy to use preferred pronouns. I contacted the newspaper and was advised that if I had a problem, I should write a letter to the editor and that my letter would be considered in line with the usual procedures. My letter responding to O’Toole was published on Thursday 12th October.
By Friday morning we eventually received clarification on the pronoun issue. Dr. Ciara Kelly, on the Newstalk Breakfast radio show, straight up asked Justice Minister Helen McEntee if it was unlawful to refuse to use pronouns. Minister McEntee replied ‘no it’s not’.
A number of Irish universities have developed gender identity and expression policies in the past six years that state it is ‘unlawful discrimination or harassment’ to refuse to use preferred pronouns. These policies are generally developed as part of a Gender equality Action Plan (GAP) written as an element of their application to receive an ‘Athena Swan’ award. Engagement with this award system - the Athena Swan Charter - is required of all Irish Higher Education Institutions. Failure to engage with the Charter would render the HEI ineligible for research funding from the major Irish research funding bodies. Research funding is the life-blood of a university.
I originally discovered about Athena Swan after attending a gender identity training workshop in my own workplace in May 2021 during which the hosts (from an activist non-governmental organisation) told attendees that ‘puberty blockers are fully reversible’. After the event, I discovered that the workshop was linked to Athena Swan. My first article about Athena Swan was published on Broadsheet.ie in November 2021. Women’s Space Ireland kindly put the article on their website too.
I’m now in the throes of deeper research into Athena Swan and its impact on Irish universities. Research is ongoing. I’ve heard that there’s a consensus in some places that I’m a ‘religious nut’. That just amuses me (because I’m not). The more I learn about how ideologies operate, the more I understand the way this topic is playing out. Yesterday, my letter about ways to move beyond ideologies was published in the Sunday Independent.
In the meantime research is ongoing. Hopefully there will be more to follow on Athena Swan in the coming weeks. That’s all for now…
