Ursula Doyle settles with Hachette
In April 2024 Ursula Doyle, publisher of Kathleen Stock’s Material Girls, left a successful career in publishing after finding herself subjected to discrimination and harassment because of her gender-critical beliefs. She subsequently launched a crowdfunder which raised more than £60,000 and brought a claim against Hachette at the employment tribunal for discrimination on the grounds of her gender-critical beliefs. The case was settled last week. Doyle’s case follows a number of tribunals, including the highly publicised settlement of Prof Jo Phoenix with the Open University, and the ongoing Peggie and Darlington nurses cases, which highlight widespread discrimination against those sceptical of gender identity ideology across a range of professions. In a statement, Ursula said: ‘I am hopeful that UK employers are beginning to realise that a policy they might have adopted in good faith and with the best intentions might have unforeseen consequences which harm women.’ It is high time for publishers to act to ensure that their internal policies respect the rights of both people who identify as trans and women and do not go beyond the law. We look forward to working with them to ensure a fairer system for all.
Glad the case has been settled, but Ursula should never have been treated this way in the first place. Thankfully she still owns her publishing wisdom & expertise and can continue to use these to bring more books out into the world 💫
Poor Ursula, that’s dreadful I had no idea about this case.
There’s obviously inconsistency within publishing houses, because I believe it’s Hachette that does the audiobooks for JK Rowling’s Strike book series.