Don't call yourself Doctor, civil servants told in inclusion drive

Civil servants with PhDs have been banned from describing themselves as 'Dr' on their name tags over fears it would exclude other staff.
Government policy says name badges should only contain an employee's name and not any academic or gender-based title.
Internal directories of staff do not contain reference to a worker's academic or marital status amid concerns about 'inclusion'.
Those highlighting their greater level of education could be considered to be using a 'hierarchical identifier', which may make other staff uncomfortable, the department said.
The policy was revealed in a submission by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to Stonewall, the charity which runs a Workplace Equality Index.
The department's request to be included in the index in 2020 referred to the Government's policy on titles. The report has since been released under Freedom of Information laws and seen by The Telegraph.
No titles allowed
'No gender markers are required on the staff directory or pass – no titles are used,' it said.
'The department considers that not using titles such as Mr, Ms, Miss, Mrs, Dr etc. at all is the most inclusive approach.'
The department explained that the policy 'avoids needlessly highlighting gender, marital status, or other hierarchical identifiers' to other members of staff.'
It also says all staff members are 'invited to provide a preferred name and will be identified by that name'. This includes email addresses, which are formed using preferred names.
The Telegraph understands that the policy on name badges is set centrally by the Government, and not left to individual departments to decide, and the Government's position on passes has not changed in the past five years.
DCMS withdrew from Stonewall's Diversity Champions Programme in 2022, judging that it no longer represented good value for money.
Every major government department has now withdrawn from the programme.
Criticised over transgender issues
The decision coincided with increased criticism of the charity on transgender issues, including its suggestion that nurseries were not doing enough to help children as young as two 'recognise their trans identity'.
The Stonewall submission also included a reference to the department's mandatory hour-long unconscious bias training to explain to staff how it could affect their 'attitudes and behaviours'.
The department's LGBTQ network also ran a field trip to see a photography exhibition of 'older trans people living in London' to mark Trans Day of Visibility.
Last year, an internal report by the civil service found that £1.7 million of taxpayers' money was spent each year on diversity networks to connect employees with other members of the same race, religion or sexuality.
The Daily Mail reported that 548 of the groups had been set up, with some civil servants spending up to half of their weeks running them.

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