A barrister has claimed that the promotion policy at King’s College London is discriminating against people with “gender-critical views” by requiring them to support the institution’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) aims.
Campaign groups are lobbying the university to review its processes after claiming they are unlawful and might open it up to challenge under the coming free speech complaints scheme, which launches in August.
A legal opinion prepared by the barrister Akua Reindorf and published by the group Sex Matters states that “the requirement to demonstrate allegiance to the EDI ambitions as a criterion for advancement places those with gender-critical beliefs at a particular disadvantage when compared to others”.
Ms Reindorf was instructed by Sex Matters to look at the policies after a King’s academic, John Armstrong, a reader in mathematics, raised concerns that the requirements of the application constituted discrimination against those who hold the view that people cannot change their sex, and placed unlawful restrictions on free speech and academic freedom.
