Halifax is criticized for introducing pronouns to staff name tags, but tells customers to close their accounts if they do not like them, despite setbacks over ‘nonsense’ gender identity movement
- Bank announced on Twitter yesterday that it is making the optional change
- Some customers immediately said they wanted to close their accounts
- Halifax defended policies, saying they were ‘striving for inclusion’ and ‘doing what’s right’
Halifax customers threatened to close their accounts after the firm added pronouns to its staff name tags in a move branded as ‘nonsense’.
The bank announced on Twitter yesterday that it was making the change, but said it would be optional for staff.
Under a post that read ‘pronouns matter’ and the hashtag ‘ItsAPeopleThing’, it showed a photo of a female staff member’s badge containing ‘his / her / her’ in brackets.
Some customers immediately said they wanted to close their accounts when they hit the move.
One wrote: ‘I was hoping for a moment it was a joke on a parody account, then I saw the verified tick, now I think I should close my Halifax account and take my money elsewhere.’
Another simply asked, ‘How do I close my account?’
The critical tweets prompted the bank to defend its new policy by responding to the tweets. It said in one post: ‘We strive for inclusion, equality and simply doing what is right. If you do not agree with our values, you are welcome to close your account. ‘
Halifax customers threatened to close their accounts after the firm added pronouns to its staff name tags in a move branded as ‘nonsense’. The bank announced on Twitter yesterday that it is making the change
The bank also gave instructions to customers who wanted to close their accounts and said they could call them or put a request in writing.
Another critic questioned whether the display of pronouns ‘really’ matters when ‘things like climate change and war’ are taking place.
Halifax responded directly to the tweet, with staff member ‘Dave’ writing: ‘We want to create a safe and accepting environment that opens up the conversation around gender identity.
“We care about our clients ‘and colleagues’ individual preferences, for us it’s a very simple solution to accidental misgender.”
Some customers immediately said they wanted to close their accounts when they hit the move
A fourth user said they had already closed their account after seeing the new policy.
However, some Twitter users were in favor of the move.
One said, ‘Thank you for being inclusive! Too bad your social media team had to deal with the transphobes, but they do a good job. ‘
Halifax’s move comes amid a quarrel over transgender athletes competing in sports.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a difference between a woman and a trans woman, saying that someone ‘could not be born with a penis without being a man.
The critical tweets prompted the bank to defend its new policy by responding to the tweets. It said in one post: ‘We strive for inclusion, equality and simply doing what is right. If you do not agree with our values, you are welcome to close your account ‘
Halifax said angry customers could close their accounts and gave instructions on how to do so
Last week, Fina – the world governing body for swimming – said it was changing its policy so that transgender women could only take part in the organization’s women’s races if they completed their transition by the age of 12.
Cultural Secretary Nadine Dorries also said at a summit of governing bodies that it was ‘inherently unfair’ that women and teenage girls were pitted against biological men.
However, she supported the creation of new ‘open categories’ that would allow transgender women to compete against each other and against men.
The BBC has also challenged pro-trans lobbyists demanding the dismissal of Sharron Davies as presenter of the Commonwealth Games this summer.
The former Olympic swimmer campaigned for transgender women to be banned from women’s sports.
She has been subjected to abuse, including death threats, for her opposition to activists’ demands.