Backlash Against Belonging - From The Edges Edition 6
Published about 1 month ago • 4 min read
August 2025
Backlash Against Belonging
From The Edges - Edition 6
Mo and Kaia
The latest headlines tell us a troubling story. Instead of seeing steady progress, we're seeing backlash. A trans employee at Marks & Spencer is treated as a problem to be apologised for. AI tools used by councils downgrade women’s health concerns. The Premier League cuts ties with Stonewall. Ministers question the sustainability of the Access to Work scheme. Politicians push to scrap race and ethnicity guidance in the legal profession. Is this part of a bigger backlash against inclusion?
It's clear that belonging is worth defending, right to the edges.
Is inclusion being framed as optional? Is it being framed as dangerous? When belonging becomes something to roll back on, it's not just policies at risk, it's people.
From the trans employee at Marks & Spencer impacted by how their employer defends them, to AI tools across industries and government schemes that support people. Inclusion and feeling like you belong are not side-projects. This is people's lives.
There are bright spots, too. Brighton's gaming industry is booming, proving that when all talent is welcomed, industries thrive. The challenge is making sure stories like that become the rule, not the exception.
We have followed and scanned the news to see what's happening. Here's what caught our eyes this week. If you know someone who should be in the loop, share this newsletter.
We spotlight the stories that show us what is working and what is going wrong. The wins inspire us, the failures teach us. For People Leaders, paying attention to both is important. And have you seen a story we should share? Email us at hello@edgeofdifference.com
Join us at the edges. Understand differences. Spark inclusion
News from the edges this week...
Marks & Spencer Defends Trans Employee Eventually
A customer at Marks & Spencer complained that an employee, who she claimed was trans, had approached her 14-year-old daughter asking if she needed help. The mother said this was inappropriate and that she had assumed their gender due to their height. Marks & Spencer apologised to the mother when she complained. They have now written to the customer and explained that employees work across all departments.
The employee was asking a customer if she needed help. The mother made assumptions, and requested for the trans employee not to speak to a customer. The store initially apologised. We're pleased they have now said that an employee will ask a customer if they need help. Marks & Spencer need to live their inclusive values.
Women's Health Concerns Downplayed By AI Tools Used By Councils
Artificial Intelligence tools being used by more than half of the UK's councils are downplaying women's physical and mental health issues. The Google AI Tool 'Gemma' is being used to generate and summarise case notes. A study by the London School of Economics has found that some language appeared significantly more often in descriptions of men than women. This could result in unequal care provision for women.
These tools are being used to ease workloads for workers who need to process a lot of data. There are many workers who are using AI models for similar reasons. The concern is that biased models are leading to unfairness. There have been many raising concerns about racial and gender biases in AI tools. Google has said its teams will analyse the findings of this report.
Did any of those news stories make you think that you need to do something about this with your teams? Our training programmes are filling up fast! We have launched some great new programmes to look at:
Employee Edge
Do you ask employees for feedback? What happens to the feedback and actions? We have partnered with Bon Insight to help you take action.
Are you a People Leader or a diversity, equity and inclusion lead looking for some help and support? You can now book time for individual sessions with us where we delve into your diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and help you create ideas to drive change. And we are offering 20% off to our newsletter subscribers!
Need some help?
£95.00
Inclusion Edge - 1 hour session
We get it, sometimes you want to talk through where you are with someone. Book our one-hour session and we will talk you... Read more
