A female publisher is pursuing her case for unfair dismissal after she was, in her words, hounded out of her job for expressing gender-critical views.
She’s posted her case online here. It makes for chilling reading in an era where increasingly anyone deemed to have unacceptable views can have his or her career destroyed.
This is how her story starts:
My name is Ursula Doyle, and I have worked in book publishing for more than 30 years. Since 2008 I have worked at Hachette U.K., one of the U.K.’s leading publishing groups, first at its Virago imprint (a sub-brand of the publisher) before setting up my own imprint, Fleet, in 2016. Fleet publishes a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, and Fleet authors have between them won numerous awards, including four Pulitzers.
In 2020 I published Kathleen Stock’s influential book on sex and gender, Material Girls. Since then, I have been a target for abuse by colleagues in the book industry, who have used social media to accuse me of – among other things – bigotry, prejudice, transphobia and hatred, often tagging in my employer, Hachette, and Hachette’s Pride network.
Why does her case matter?
I was effectively punished for having published Kathleen Stock’s book Material Girls. Numerous gender-critical authors, including Helen Joyce (Trans) and Abigail Shrier (Irreversible Damage), have struggled to find publishers for their books, and the careers of children’s writers Rachel Rooney and Gillian Philip were ended because of their gender-critical views.
When you consider the impact these books have had on the conversations around sex and gender, it is easy to understand why publishing has been a key strategic target for gender identity activists. Their attempts to suppress all dissent at source have made the sector a hostile environment for anyone who dares to stand up for reality and freedom of expression. These tactics mean it is difficult for gender-critical books to find a publisher, and almost impossible for any authors who want to sell books on other topics to speak up on this subject.
The case is now advancing to a procedural hearing in August, and will probably go to court next year. She’s successfully crowd-funded her legal costs so far.
Worth reading in full.
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