Stonewall's hour of reckoning has finally arrived

Telegraph

17-04-2025

For decades, influential charity Stonewall was widely regarded as a champion for equal rights – winning over the most powerful businesses and politicians.
Its influence was such that hundreds of Britain's largest organisations battled for top spot on its flagship equality leader board, handing millions of pounds to the charity in the process.
But much has changed. The 36-year-old organisation now facing a crisis that has prompted even one of its founders to turn against it.
In the wake of Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling that only biological women are women, Simon Fanshawe urged bosses to abandon Stonewall, which has long championed trans rights.
'Employers can now take advice from the highest court in the land rather than from Stonewall and other lobby groups,' says Fanshawe, who was one of six activists to help set up the organisation.
'Previously, in trying to become a Stonewall 'Diversity Champion', businesses have often gone beyond the law.
'I would say that businesses should now ignore Stonewall, focus on the judgment, and that way be absolutely clear that their policies are in line with the Equality Act.
'Businesses have been thinking they've been doing the right thing, and it transpires they haven't. They should stop listening to lobby groups.'
Scrutiny of Stonewall has been building for years, even garnering disapproval from former supporter Sir Stephen Fry, who in December branded its trans activism 'nonsensical' and warned it has 'got stuck in a terrible, terrible quagmire'.
In particular, critics have argued that Stonewall was using corporate schemes to stifle free speech.
One HR veteran, whose company is not involved with Stonewall, believes too many bosses leant on the charity out of fear of 'holding a different position to other organisations'.
'I'm surprised that any major organisation still has a relationship with them. That's not because they haven't done good things in the past, but they're driving a political agenda with a small P,' they say.
'From a business point of view, people will now be taking stock and saying, 'Hang on a second, the highest court has made a decision [on the legal definition of a woman] and this organisation is disagreeing – do we want to be aligned with an organisation which is taking that stance?''
'Running businesses on an agenda, not the law'
They added that HR leaders who disagree with the Supreme Court need to ask themselves how they've been running their businesses.
'If you don't believe the law trumps all, then you've essentially been running your business based on an agenda, not on the law,' the HR boss said.
UK-based chief executives and HR heads have been seeking discreet advice over groups such as Stonewall for months, concerned they may have been led astray.
Fanshawe also argued last year that there had been a shift in attitude, with companies saying to themselves: 'Actually, I'm not convinced that a high-street retailer should take a position on anti-conversion therapy.'
However, the HR veteran – who did not want to be named – points out how much Stonewall itself has changed, claiming they were previously 'giving good, strong quality guidance on how you become more inclusive as an employer'.
'What's changed is that they started to say, 'Unless you adopt these positions, you won't progress in our index or rankings.'
'That's legitimate. But it's also legitimate for organisations to say, 'I don't want to do that, so I'm going to step outside of this.''
Concerns over Stonewall in corporate circles have also been growing increasingly prominent in recent year, as some of its most controversial advice came to light.
For example, the charity reportedly told employers to use 'parent who has given birth' instead of the word mother, while it also questioned whether private health insurance covered transition-related treatments.
The Welsh Government, which appeared high on Stonewall's ranking in 2020, deleted the term 'mother' from its maternity policy in 2019.
Stonewall has since watered down its policies, admitting last year that 'mother' is a 'powerful and important word'.
However, for many bosses, the damage was already done. Even before the latest Supreme Court ruling, tensions were rising.
In 2022, Stonewall was criticised for suggesting that nurseries were not doing enough to help children as young as two 'recognise their trans identity', while last year its support of puberty blockers came under fire following a major review by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass.
The review, which warned there was a lack of established medical evidence for the use of puberty blockers for children, triggered a petition calling for Stonewall's former chief, who advised schools to 'shred' a research pack highlighting the dangers of the treatment, to lose her peerage.
Yet Stonewall itself acknowledges that change may be on the cards, particularly in light of the latest Supreme Court decision.
A spokesman for the charity said that many organisations, including Stonewall, will be reviewing their policies and guidance. 'Stonewall regularly reviews its guidance and works with legal experts to ensure that it reflects the latest legal developments – we will continue to do so,' the spokesman said.
As for employers, they will hope that the latest ruling will finally put to bed the issue of Stonewall, and end what some claim has been a 'horrible' debate.
'The decision recognises that women now means biological women. So women are going to be protected in terms of having their spaces,' says Emilie Cole, the founding partner of law firm Cole Khan.
'We're no longer going to have the Pandora's box of endless debate as to what actually legally constitutes a woman.
'Essentially, this has been a really horrible area. It's been so hard fought on both sides of the spectrum, but this judgment is welcomed because this has obviously got real-world consequences for people working in businesses, and clarity in this area is welcomed.'
However, others are not as conciliatory. As one barrister puts it: 'Those who follow Stonewall should stop doing so immediately and seek counsel elsewhere.