a British employment tribunal ruled that the Centre for Global Development, a think-tank, had acted legally when it did not renew Maya Forstater’s contract because she had tweeted that a person’s biological sex is immutable. Ms Forstater, a researcher, had tweeted several messages critical of the idea that natal males can become women. She did so from her personal account but listed her employer in her Twitter profile.
A confluence of technological and cultural change has made such cases almost inevitable. Thanks to Twitter and other social networks, employees have many more opportunities to broadcast their opinions; off-colour comments that would once have been uttered in a bar now ricochet around the world. Companies that strive to demonstrate their progressive character are likely to find that troublesome.
Many Western countries also ban discrimination on the basis of “belief”, though none defines the term clearly. Increasingly, non-religious workers want similar protections to those afforded to religious groups, says Peter Daly, an employment lawyer involved in the cases of both Ms Forstater and Mr Casamitjana. British courts are leading in this area.
Over the past decade European tribunals have concluded that various non-religious beliefs clear the bar. Anthroposophy, opposition to hunting, Darwinism, faith in the “higher purpose of public broadcast journalism” and ethical veganism have been ruled in. Being sympathetic to China, disliking asylum-seekers and the conviction that 9/11 and 7/7 were “false flag” operations have been ruled out. On vegetarianism and Marxism countries disagree.
Which is why it's a very good idea to maintain anonymity online. We are at a point now where even stating certain facts can result in people harassing your workplace and trying to ruin your life.
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Source: TheEconomist - 🏆 6. / 92 Read more »