[Note added 18.10.14: This post was originally published with a figure of £15,000, but it later emerged that the sponsorships available only to women and male-to-female transsexuals are £22,750, not £15,000.]
We recently posted a piece about how female postgraduate students at Brunel University will received £15,000 more grants solely on account of their gender. It prompted us to make a Freedom of Information Act request:
Would male postgraduate engineering students who have gender reassignment surgery either before or during their postgraduate courses, be entitled to the £15,000 p.a. grants?
We’ve just received the following response, which is much in line with our expectations:
131220 Brunel University FoI response
So male-to-female trans-sexual students – even those who are ‘transitioning’ – WILL receive the additional £15,000 p.a. grants. Our eye was caught by the following:
The University’s Equality and Diversity Statement states that, “… all members of staff, students, visitors and applicants for employment or study are treated on the basis of their merits and abilities and that no one suffers discrimination or disadvantage regardless of their race, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex and sexual orientation.”
In a moment we’ll be sending a new FoI request to the university:
Giving £15,000 p.a. additional grants to female postgraduate engineering students is discriminating against, and disadvantaging, male students on the basis of their sex, which clearly conflicts with your Equality and Diversity Statement. Do you agree? And if you agree, how do you intend to resolve the matter?
That´s not a problema, the two most spoken languages will succeed to show the World la hidden and harmful truth of the gender based doctrines
Thanks as always! I speak barely a word of Spanish, sadly.
Reblogged this on Los españoles se merecen saberlo, por la Paz y la verdadera Igualdad en España! and commented:
Hemos publicado recientemente un artículo sobre cómo los estudiantes de postgrado de sexo femenino en la Universidad de Brunel se recibió £ 15.000 más subvenciones exclusivamente a causa de su género
I was about to say the same. ‘Under-represented’ is another term for ‘not interested’. They may even say that men are already ‘advantaged’ in this field.
I’m sure that is so Mike but then you could ask them to demonstrate their action is “proportionate” and does not negatively impact other groups. I doubt they have done this work required under the EAct. If nothing else you will have got the Uni. To do some work to explain itself. Also this may be evidence for any male student wishing to take a claim of sex discrimination. If the positive action isn’t based on clear evidence to demonstrate it is proportionate then under the act it is direct discrimination
Thanks. I imagine the reply will be the classic ‘women are under-represented’ one.
As them for a copy of their equality assessment on this. In this they have to give the explanation for the positive action.
Come on boys, we all know what to do now…