Maya Forstater vs. CGD Europe
Maya Forstater worked as a researcher and adviser for the think tank Centre for Global Development. After expressing her views on sex and gender identity on social media in 2018, her collaboration with the organisation was not continued. She took her case to the British employment tribunal.
What the court decided
At first instance, the Employment Tribunal ruled that her belief was not protected by law. The Employment Appeal Tribunal overturned that decision on 10 June 2021: Forstater’s gender-critical belief is a belief protected under the Equality Act 2010. The case was then heard on its merits. On 6 July 2022, the Employment Tribunal found that she had been directly discriminated against because of her belief, including by not being offered an employment contract and by not having her appointment as a visiting fellow renewed. A ruling on compensation followed in 2023.
Background
Forstater is an expert in taxation and sustainable business. From January 2015, she was affiliated with the think tank as a visiting fellow. In September 2018, she posted messages on Twitter opposing the proposed reform of the UK Gender Recognition Act. She wrote that the word woman refers to an adult human female and that sex cannot change. Employees of the organisation objected to these views, and in December 2018 her contract was not renewed. In December 2019, writer J.K. Rowling expressed her support for Forstater on Twitter. A brief summary of the appeal judgment can be found on gendergekte.nl under Forstater v CGD.
The judgments in closer detail
In December 2019, Judge James Tayler ruled that Forstater’s views were incompatible with human dignity and the fundamental rights of others. In his view, they therefore failed the test established in Grainger plc v Nicholson, which asks whether a belief merits respect in a democratic society. On appeal, under Judge Choudhury, that decision was overturned. The UK’s human rights commission, the EHRC, had joined the appeal. The Employment Appeal Tribunal expressly qualified its ruling: the decision does not mean that people with gender-critical views may misgender transgender people with impunity. In July 2022, Judge Andrew Glennie found both direct discrimination and victimisation. In June 2023, Forstater was awarded £91,500 in compensation, plus £14,900 in interest. More on law and gender can be found under legal matters; the societal dimension is discussed under society.
Why it is included in this archive
The case concerns the extent of protection for beliefs in the workplace. It frequently reappears in debates about critical perspectives and in international developments in the legal field.