Arts Council England loses unfair dismissal case to former diversity manager over trans rights comments

Afreena Islam-Wright, former diversity manager at Arts Council England, won an employment tribunal in Manchester against the organization for unfair dismissal. She resigned in September 2022 after an internal investigation was launched into comments she made supporting trans rights. The investigation followed a complaint from fellow ACE staff member Denise Fahmy, who had previously won a separate tribunal claiming harassment over her gender-critical beliefs. Islam-Wright's comments were made on a May 2022 petition circulated among ACE staff opposing a £9,000 grant to the LGB Alliance, a trans-exclusionary advocacy group. In her petition comments, Islam-Wright expressed concern about gender-critical staff making funding decisions and called for trans awareness training. She stated she couldn't imagine what trans and non-binary colleagues were feeling and compared the situation to racist statements in the workplace. Judge Rhodri McDonald ruled that Islam-Wright had no intention to cause hurt and was motivated solely to support trans and non-binary colleagues. The tribunal dismissed her victimisation claim but found in her favor on unfair dismissal. Islam-Wright will receive a payout from Arts Council England, though the amount remains undetermined. The initial internal review had identified her comments as equating gender-critical beliefs to racism and creating a hostile environment for colleagues with different views.