Social affairs leader writer for the Guardian. Author of Sexed: A History of British Feminism. Views on here are mine
Joined July 2009
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29 Dec 2025
💥Today, 29th December, is 50th anniversary of the sex discrimination and equal pay acts coming into force, along with equal opportunities commission to help enforce.
Before then, employers & others *legally* blocked women from all kinds of roles, responsibilities, promotions 1/
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Susanna Rustin retweeted
The conclusion I draw from the Early Day Motion that more than 130 MPs are entirely relaxed at the prospect of continued unlawful sex discrimination seen in recent judgments like the Darlington Nurses and LS v NHSE. As an experienced equality lawyer that sadden me greatly
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Jun 10
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Susanna Rustin retweeted
Jun 10
I can't get this out of my head. I've been really frustrated by the focus on the Tate brothers over recent years bc the porn empires they built their wealth from go largely unchallenged. But this investigation shows how these deeply damaged abusive men groomed right-wing politicians as well as lonely girls to build their influence. It's horrifying but fascinating. newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
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Jun 10
To summarise Alice's work here: posh white humanities students are more likely than other students to think mixed-sex, trans-inclusive changing rooms are a good idea.
For clarity, that means other students favour single-sex spaces (as most people do, according to polls)
I've been playing with the @HEPI_news data tables, some fascinating differences according to student characteristics.
First up social class. 37% of ABC1s say males should be allowed to use women's changing rooms compared to 28% of C2DEs.
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Jun 10
And in case you missed, my recent piece on why i think single-sex spaces are important theguardian.com/commentisfre…
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Susanna Rustin retweeted
Jun 10
Goshawks are spreading across Wiltshire. Our ringing group has ringed 11 nestlings this year including this lovely brood of 4. The main prey items are young Rooks and Jackdaws which has pleased the various landowners!
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Jun 10
Fascinating @amyhawk_ piece on women in China, and it's first in a series so more to come (link next):
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this is interesting: new poll from @HEPI_news on what students 18-21 think about controversial issues.
of interest to me, since i just wrote on this, is that only a third think people should use changing rooms to match gender identity. also, they are very pro assisted dying 1/2
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Susanna Rustin retweeted
We're looking to hire a new reporter at the CNJ and Tribune – good opportunity for somebody at the start of their career in journalism. Send me an email if interested or want to know more. See attached tweet.
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Susanna Rustin retweeted
Jun 7
When I talk about fear culture at our universities, this is what I mean. A few young minds that have closed themselves off to anything they disagree with are ruining it for the majority of us students who know that such exposure is the most important of all.
Jun 7
Due to escalating disruptive protests, I have decided to cancel the remainder of these lectures. This is deeply lamentable, but the disruption has undermined the academic nature of this series. Students shouldn't face bullying or harassment when attending academic events.
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Yay! I'm on a panel with @RosieDuffield1 @glosswitch and @MaeveHalligan, Sunday July 5th in London, please come if you can. Thanks to @WomensRightsNet for organising what I think will be a great day
🌟Panel 3. Has feminism made women more free?
Theme: Culture
Chair: Emma Thomas
🎤 Speakers 🎤
- Rosie Duffield MP @RosieDuffield1
- Susanna Rustin @SusannaRustin
- Victoria Smith @glosswitch
- Maeve Halligan @MaeveHalligan
It is often assumed that the fight for women’s equality has been won, with feminism securing women’s freedom by removing the legal and social barriers that once limited our lives - the right to work, to own property, to borrow money or start businesses and to participate fully in public life without male approval.
But what has that freedom delivered in practice? For younger women, is life more free than it was for their mothers, or have new pressures and constraints emerged?
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This is a really good piece by David Batty about his experience of adoption (link next)
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So sad about Marjane Satrapi. This is a good piece about how important she was to other Iranian women (link next):
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📚🎪 not convinced i have many followers in Cumbria but if you are nearby by any chance, on June
12-14, please come to the inaugural Lake District Book Festival at Cartmel! I am ridiculously excited to host an event discussing Duchess of Atholl & Margaret Bondfield 1/2
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.. two pioneering women in politics, with authors @amygraywrites & @NanSloane. Also chairing Avi Shlaim talk later on same day. Loads of really interesting authors, such a great programme events.lakedistrictbookfesti…
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