I'll go back to my original point. I think the word 'female' can be for a person that has transitioned as well. The word 'female' doesn't exclude someone that has transitioned. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43e899/male-to-female-transition-guide
As for what the CEO should be doing: nothing. It's just a stupid spat. No one needs to be fired for disagreeing with each other. You might have a culture problem with how people disrespect each other, but word choice probably isn't the crux of it.
This whole thing is silly. The whole argument over identify politics is silly. One group is caught up in language and over sensitive. The other side is caught up in language and overly insensitive and stubborn. Is it so freaking hard for us to use language that is simple yet not offensive? Is it so hard for us not to be offended and tolerant when someone uses language they don't realize is offensive? This shouldn't be this hard. It's not about free speech and it's not about identity politics. It's all about ego.
I don't see that B did anything wrong and doubly troubling that C used that time and forum to correct B. Maybe B was a little terse but thats it.
What? How about a 4th option where the employee does not have to suppress any indignation and just likes to throw their weight around. That could easily be as possible with the facts we have. I mean we are talking about the use of word female here,I am very supportive of Trans issues and had no clue this was thing.
I don't think anyone should have to feel forced to say something they do not agree with as true. Absolutely not. That is the opposite of freedom. A man can say female or woman when he feels it is the case... there is nothing bad about those words. Playing along with someone's fantasy is not required nor should it. You cannot give an inch on language or people seeking to control you will take a mile. That is how freedom dies... when people are to scared to speak up. I do not care about what someone wishes I say. If I wish to say female I will bloody well say it.
I am not sure if the company @AroundTheWorld was talking about a German or US company? If it is a US company then unless the private company has made a rule that the term "female" is off limits then there is nothing in US law to prohibit "B" from using the term. "B" has free speech rights and nowhere in the Constitution is there a right granted to not be offended. Basically "C" needs to shut the heck up. That being said a private company is well within their right to define whether certain words/terms are off limits.
And if you worked for me, I have the bloody right to fire your ass for it. People who work for me don't have free speech. They are expected to do what's best for the company, not what's best for their ego.
Well we don't know the full context or history between those discussing. Maybe the guy is an ass and this was just an excuse to try to get rid of him? Who knows. However, if we assume everything was cool, then the SJW is clearly being a bully here. If the SJW has an issue with the word - which has been considered harmless for 99% of her life - then she should have had a genuine conversation with the dude about it and given her reasons why. She could have talked it over like a reasonable person and tried to educate the dude. Instead, she immediately attacked (harshly), and not surprisingly the dude got defensive - which is what everyone does when they're attacked. What should have happened was they should have acted like ****ing adults instead of playing out a twitter outrage scenario using employer-owned resources. In the end, they probably both need a talking to. But before that the company itself needs to decide where to draw the line on words like female. Fwiw, I use female occasionally and have never thought of it as disparaging. If it's now considered exclusionary, well, ok, I suppose that's up to the company to decide.
This comes down to words and language made up by left wing ideology. I and others don't have to adopt ideology... esp political like this.... You and other leftists are authoritarian to your core... just like the far right wing... I would be glad to not work for you if you forced speech on me. The ability to determine our truth is a fundamental part of being an individual. **** no one could work for you anyway. You would find some purity test for them to fail eventually. Or the type of people you would hire would oust you with purity tests.
How about nobody gets fired? Is that not an option? Personally, I'd consider female to be more clinical and abstract than women, and thus the less problematic of two completely not problematic words.
Person C should be fired because good companies don't have room for stupid people sucking up resources. It is obvious they have little to no brain power.
I think "B" is in the wrong for using "female" in that particular context. "Women" is a more appropriate term. With that said, B's phrasing simply comes across as weird to me. Most people don't talk (or Slack, etc.) like that, whether they're woke, PC, etc...or not. There are other contexts where "female" may be the better word to use. "C" overreacted big time, both in her (or his?) initial response to B, and in her decision to escalate to HR. If I was a manager at that company, I'd be more concerned about C. Over-the-top reactions like that can lead to serious morale problems within a team or company if they're not nipped in the bud. I might decide to have a little chat with both of them, especially C. But no, I wouldn't automatically fire anyone solely over this. OTOH, if B or C had a history of problematic behavior, then that might change things.
I just recently heard that "Female" Is problematic language in the past couple years. I just don't use it at all in a professional setting anymore. It doesn't bother me.