WATCH: Newry transgender woman receives £9k in sex discrimination case against Debenhams
Ava Moore applied for part-time job and was unsuccessful
Last updated 16th Jan 2020
By SARAH MCKINLEY
A transgender Newry woman been awarded a £9,000 settlement after a sex-discrimination case against Debenhams.
Ava Moore applied for a part-time Christmas job with the retail chain in her home town but was unsuccessful.
She believes she was rejected because she is transgendered.
Debenhams have not admitted liability, but they said they are willing to liaise with the Equality Commission to review its Equal Opportunities policies, practices and procedures.
Believing she had performed very well in the trial shift, Ava said she was devastated to learn that her application was rejected - but she did recall one warning sign.
"During the course of the interview, I felt a change in the atmosphere after I provided my birth certificate, which discloses my gender history and the fact I am a transgendered woman," she said, adding that she believed her skills should have helped her breeze through the process.
"I had the experience and the skills - I've 16 years working in fashion and hairdressing and beauty, and they should have taken that along with a the phone calls, the interview skills... it's very disheartening. It should have been 'that lady, that woman, had the skills and the experience and the confidence to stand here in front of us and do it."
Others who feel persecuted should have the confidence to step forward too, said Ava: "I think a lot of trans people just keep it very private, but I've been putting up with it for many numbers of years and i just decided not to put up with it and you know what, I deserve this job, whether I was transgender or anything.
"They should have given me a chance to show how hard-working I can be, and I'm still very disappointed I didn't get the job!
"Get in touch with the Equality Commission who will help you and they were so kind and respectful to me. So stand up and fight - that's what I'd say, don't just hide away because I did it for years."
Dr Michael Wardlow is the Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission. He insists that jobs should be awarded on merit alone. "When I see a case of discrimination like this one coming forward, I would love to think that this is the last one. I thought we were past the days that prejudice like this existed in the workplace. People should be employed on merit, and as we heard Ava say, she did well in the interview, that's not being disputed, and then the atmosphere changed when her birth certificate obviously showed that the gender she's living in now wasn't her gender of birth."
He also believes a sad reality is that in Northern Ireland, the transgender community will continue to be 'marginalised'.
Dr Wardlow invited businesses to get in touch with the Equality Commission, should they need advice or information on equality law and employment. "Our message from today is that employers and service providers need to know that there are rights and protections afforded to people who are transgender under sex-discrimination legislation. There's no excuse, the law is there, and if they have any questions they should come and contact my colleagues here at the advice and compliance team," he said
Dr Wardlow said Debenhams was willing to liaise with the Commission to review its Equal Opportunities policies, practices and procedures.
"We welcome this commitment and look forward to working with them," he added.
The company affirms its commitment to the principle of equality of opportunity and to ensuring its policies, practices and procedures comply with national and European equality law and the relevant codes of practice, in particular, the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976. Debenhams has undertaken to meet the Commission to review these.