Open University settles with Dr Almut Gadow before hearing could take place Dr Almut Gadow: ‘Much needs to be corrected in this area, where EDIdeology dictates the content of OU teaching at the expense of academic freedom’
A law lecturer who was sacked by the Open University after expressing gender-critical beliefs has been handed a payout from the institution.
Dr Almut Gadow was dismissed for gross misconduct in November 2022 after she criticised changes to the curriculum based on gender identity in an online forum.
She claimed the university was introducing requirements to “indoctrinate students in gender identity theory”.
The lecturer, who taught law at the university for almost a decade, claimed she had raised concerns about new teaching requirements, including making students use offenders’ preferred pronouns.
She took the university to an employment tribunal alleging she was “harassed, discriminated against, and unfairly dismissed because I reject gender ideology and believe in academic freedom”.
The Open University has now settled with Dr Gadow before a hearing was scheduled to take place later this month, The Telegraph has learnt.
A spokesman for the Open University said: “We can confirm that a settlement has been reached with Dr Gadow.” It would not comment on whether it admitted liability.
About-turn for university
The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, including the financial sum awarded to Dr Gadow.
It amounts to an about-turn for the university, which previously told The Telegraph it would “vigorously defend” itself before a judge.
The institution also accused the academic of making “spurious allegations” about the circumstances surrounding her dismissal and said it looked forward to presenting its own version of events at an employment tribunal.
In a statement, Dr Gadow accused the university of agreeing “to pay me an undisclosable amount of money to avoid a public airing of the facts”.
“After long claiming it could not wait for the truth to come out in court, that it would fight this case ‘vigorously’ and ‘robustly’ all the way, the OU [Open University] – while making no admission as to liability – has resolved the matter by way of payment of an undisclosable sum of money.
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