Fox News’s Liberal Workplace Policies Revealed

By Joanna Button

What’s going on? A new report by The Daily Signal revealed Fox News’ surprisingly progressive policies: Employees can use bathrooms and wear clothes aligning with their gender identity and must refer to each other by their preferred names and pronouns. Fox is facing backlash for imposing the same “woke” policies on their own workers that they criticize other companies for.

The policies: The controversial guidelines are outlined in a January 2021 handbook. It cites the LGBT organization the Human Rights Campaign’s definitions of terms like “gender-fluid” and “gender non-conforming” and outlines a “Workplace Transition Plan” that provides transitioning employees with time off for sex-change treatments.

Fox’s motivations: Fox’s guidelines align with regulations in New York City, where Fox is headquartered, and California, where many Fox employees work. Both states require that employers use their employees’ preferred names and pronouns and allow workers to use the bathroom of their choice. Fox has also attained a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index for years, which measures workplace LGBT inclusivity.

Other controversies: The media company previously drew backlash for using female pronouns for biological males like TikToker Dylan Mulvaney and swimmer Lia Thomas and for airing a June 2022 segment praising a child’s transition. According to former Fox employees interviewed by The Daily Signal, Fox host Tucker Carlson had to fight to host Matt Walsh, a popular critic of transgender ideology.

Viewers’ concerns: Many conservative Fox viewers have expressed irritation at the traditionally right-leaning media company’s apparent shift to the left, with its criticism of Donald Trump, the firing of Tucker Carlson, and now these guidelines. Some believe Fox’s ownership cares more about money than the conservative values the network claims to support.