“Our Gender in HE Conference 2022 is sub-titled, “Current, complex, contested: Conversations about Gender in HE.” We believe it is important to stimulate debate and listen to a wide range of views, including those with which people may or may not agree.
“Freedom of speech is a core principle of the HE sector and we must protect it, working together to create a climate in which all students and staff can discuss a range of topics – including the complex and controversial – knowing that they will be listened to and treated with mutual dignity, tolerance, and civility.
“We tried – and did not succeed – to have an appropriately representative panel. The panel should not have gone ahead framed as presenting a range of perspectives. We will proceed with our invited speaker in the closing part of the programme in dialogue with a member of our senior staff at Advance HE with a commitment to dignity, tolerance and civility, as part of a balanced overall conference programme. We appreciate there will be opposing views to this but it’s right that different views are presented and engaged with.
"We are committed to trans rights and equality, and are reviewing our work on trans inclusion, to ensure it is evidence-based, informed by and in partnership with trans and non-binary people with lived experience in higher education. We'll be sharing a way for the sector to provide feedback on this work in the near future.”