A transgender woman has settled her £9000 sex discrimination case against Debenhams.
Ava Moore said a seemingly successful interview began to go south after she handed the interviewer her birth certificate. She said “the atmosphere at her interview changed after providing her birth certificate.”
After being formally notified that she was unsuccessful, which is standard protocol, Ms Moore received an anonymous email, which claimed she did not get the job because she was a transgender woman. Her “confidence was rocked” by the news, she said.
She said she wanted to take steps to work and provide for herself, and that the “job was exactly what I’d been looking for and I thought that I’d be really good at it. I felt that it didn’t matter how hard I tried, or how well I performed at interview, it just seemed to me that my gender was more important than being able to do the job.”
“What does my gender have to do with my ability to make sales?” she added.
Ava Moore.
Dr Michael Wardlow the chief commissioner of the Equality Commission, supported Ms Moore in her case against Debenhams, saying “a job should go to the person who does best at interview and in selection tests,” he said.
“The company confirmed that Ava performed well at interview and in interacting with customers -and she says she told them she was willing to work the hours required. The more open and inclusive the recruitment process, the more likely it is to avoid unlawful discrimination and increase the likelihood of getting the best and most qualified people for the job.”
He has since urged Debenhams to take action to improve their equality policies, and work closer with the commission to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Debenhams may have lost the case, but they haven’t actually “accepted liability.”
In a statement, Debenhams said: “We have agreed a settlement on the basis of no liability on the part of Debenhams.
“We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to promoting equality and diversity within the business and throughout the sector.
“Decisions on recruitment, training, promotion, and employment conditions are based solely on personal competence and performance.”
