BBC Radio London: Stonewall Wants to Erase the Word "Mother"

On June 06, 2021, FiLiA was invited to BBC Radio London's The Breakfast Show with Jumoké Fashola to speak about Stonewall's lobbying efforts to erase the word "mother" from the policies of public bodies and organisations participating in their Workplace Equality Index. Freedom of Information requests (FOIs), reported by The Telegraph, revealed that employers are being encouraged by Stonewall to delete references to mothers and pregnant women in an effort to, according to the lobby group, become more inclusive of everyone. Stonewall wishes to replace the word "mother" with "parent who has given birth”.

FiLiA Spokeswoman Raquel Rosario Sánchez spoke about the importance of upholding the democratic process and invited Stonewall to debate their lobbying efforts which affect women's rights with feminist organisations such as FiLiA. While we are disappointed that Stonewall refused to appear on the programme with us (instead, sending a written statement), our Spokeswoman emphasised that throughout history, women have fought to be explicitly named and visible in public policies that affect their lives, including maternity policies.

Raquel also spoke about how before the Custody of Infants Act of 1839, mothers had no rights over their children if their marriage broke down. Therefore, the issue of maternity rights and motherhood within public policy has historically been discriminatory towards women, and it is in that context that this latest assault by Stonewall must be understood.

You can listen to the audio of the radio interview on the BBC London website.