Co-op’s chief executive has reaffirmed her commitment to “protect trans people to the end” following the recent rise in anti-transgender rhetoric in the UK.
Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq reportedly said in a letter to staff that she and the consumer organisation, which operates over 4000 food stores in the UK, would “continue to advocate” for trans people in the wake of a recent UK Supreme Court ruling which deemed the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of a woman excludes trans women.
The 16 April ruling, brought by Lord Patrick Hodge in a unanimous vote, argued that the Equality Act’s definitions of women and sex referred specifically to “biological women” and “biological sex.”
Lord Hodge added that the judgement should not be read as a “triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not.”
In his own statement on the ruling, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said that he was “really pleased” that it had provided “much needed clarity,” later confirming that he no longer believes trans women are women or that trans men are men.”
In the letter to Co-op’s 54,000 staff members, 1,000 of which reportedly identify as trans or non-binary, Khoury-Haq reaffirmed that the chain of retail, wholesale, and legal businesses would protect trans people “to the end.”
“There are highly talented people who, if they feel loved, if they feel valued, if they feel like they can bring their whole selves to work, their contribution is immense,” she continued.
Co-op ‘reviewing single-sex spaces policy’
Following the ruling, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) shared non-statutory guidance urging employers and organisations to ban trans people from any gendered public facilities, including toilets and changing rooms. While the guidance is not legally enforceable, it is likely to be used as justification to pass policy and/or legislation in the UK.
While Khoury-Haq says that the Co-operative group will continue to “speak out against hate,” it is currently investigating what the guidance could mean for its policies on trans inclusion in the workplace.
“The key areas that we will need to look at differently are changing rooms,” she said, particularly focusing on the group’s funeral care branches.
UK banking group, Barclay’s, became one of the first major organisations to signal that it would follow-through with the EHRC’s guidance and ban trans women from women’s bathrooms.
“If that’s ‘woke’, I’m fine with it”
Co-op has reportedly said it will wait until full guidance on single-sex space usage is shared by the EHRC, expected in June. Until this, it will allow staff to “continue to use toilets and changing facilities in accordance with their gender identity.”
Khoury-Haq added that, regardless, Co-op could continue to be a “safe place” for everyone, including trans people.
“If that’s ‘woke’, I’m fine with it,” she added. “On a personal level, I need to take care of my trans colleagues. I always will, and, as long as I’m there, they will be protected. I will absolutely protect those people to the end.”
PinkNews has contacted the Co-operative Group for comment.
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