Ruth Elizabeth Hunt, Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (born 12 March 1980) is a Welsh administrator who was Chief Executive of UK-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality charity
Stonewall, the largest
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
equality body in Europe, from 2014 until her resignation in 2019.
Hunt was nominated for a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
age and
Crossbench
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
in the
2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
The 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are honours awarded following the July 2019 resignation of the Prime Minister, Theresa May. The life peerages and other honours were issued as two separate lists by the Cabinet Office on 10 September ...
. She was created Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green, of
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...
, on 16 October 2019.
She was formerly President of the
Oxford University Student Union
The Oxford University Student Union is the official students' union of the University of Oxford. It is better known in Oxford under the branding Oxford SU or by its previous name of OUSU. It exists to represent Oxford University students in ...
.
Biography
Hunt was educated at Christ the King Primary School, Cardiff, New College,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, a former independent school, and
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls is a selective grammar school in Kings Heath, Birmingham, for students aged 11 to 18 (Year 7 to Year 13). It is one of the most academically successful schools in the United Kingdom, currently ranked 10t ...
, Birmingham, before going on to study English Language and Literature at
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...
.
Hunt joined the Equality Challenge Unit, an organisation which promoted "equality for staff employed in the higher education sector", in January 2004 where she led work to advise Higher Education Institutions on
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
and
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
equality.
In 2005, she joined
Stonewall in the role of Senior Policy Officer where she led work on Stonewall's research into homophobic bullying in schools. She became Head of Policy and Research in 2007 and Director of Public Affairs in 2009.
During this time Hunt produced research into lesbian, gay and bisexual health needs and inequalities, religion and belief and its impact on sexual orientation equality, older gay people's experiences in Britain and, in 2012, the first guide looking at openly gay role models.
In 2013, Hunt was named as Deputy Chief Executive of Stonewall, overseeing the strategic development and delivery of Stonewall's policy, research, campaigns and information functions which includes the work of Stonewall's Public Affairs team, Education team, the Stonewall Information Service and Stonewall Scotland and Stonewall Cymru.
In July 2014, after a period as Acting Chief Executive, she was named Chief Executive of Stonewall.
Hunt has overseen the growth of Stonewall's work in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, in particular the establishment of the Stonewall Cymru bilingual information service and Stonewall Scotland's lobbying to secure the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill. She gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee on marriage equality in September 2013.
Hunt leads Stonewall's work on policy development and strategic influencing, in particular developing strategic partnerships with organisations across the public and private sector. She has led work with organisations such as the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, the
UK Border Agency
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...
, the
Home Office and
Accenture
Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
.
As Deputy Chief Executive, Hunt was involved in Stonewall's campaign regarding the
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
Background
Civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowi ...
in England and Wales.
She was involved in Stonewall's campaign regarding the
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c 22) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act constitutes a major review and update of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
According to the Department of Health th ...
, legalising lesbian to access fertility treatment.
In October 2013, in its "
Pink List
The Rainbow List (called the Pink List until 2014) is a list of the most influential openly LGBT individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually in the British national newspaper ''The Independent on Sunday''. The list was started in 2000 ...
", the ''
Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' named Hunt as the fifth most influential LGBT person in Britain. In 2014, she dropped to eighth place in the renamed "Rainbow List", and in 2015 she was voted into third place. In 2015, she also received an honorary
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
ship from
Cardiff University
, latin_name =
, image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University
, motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord
, mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord
, established = 1 ...
, where her mother Sheila was then Professor of Nursing, and an honorary degree from
Keele University
Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...
.
She attracted much attention in May 2014 when she announced in ''The Daily Telegraph'' that Stonewall would not be joining a wide boycott of
The Dorchester
The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...
hotel in London, owned by the
Sultan of Brunei
The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...
,
Hassanal Bolkiah
Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...
, where Stonewall was to hold a gala dinner. Bolkiah was proposing to introduce the death penalty for sodomy but she argued that there was not "a mandate for the boycott" and "We only implement actions that we can calculate will have an impact."
Hunt edited ''The Book of Queer Prophets'', a collection of essays on
sexuality and religion
The views of the various different religions and religious believers regarding human sexuality range widely among and within them, from giving sex and sexuality a rather negative connotation to believing that sex is the highest expression of the ...
to be published in May 2020. The book includes essays by
Jeanette Winterson
Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English writer. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against convention. Other novels explore gender pola ...
,
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah
Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah (born November 1974), also known as Lady Phyll, is a British political activist known for her work for racial, gender and LGBT+ equality. She is co-founder of UK Black Pride and executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust ...
,
John L. Bell
John Lamberton Bell (born 1949) is a Scottish hymn-writer and Church of Scotland minister. He is a member of the Iona Community, a broadcaster, and former student activist. He works throughout the world, lecturing in theological colleges in the ...
, and others.
She publicly apologised days before the 2015 general election after Stonewall was criticised for publishing an online campaign graphic which suggested that only the Labour Party substantially supported LGBT equality in its manifesto.
In 2019, some donors were reported by ''The Sunday Times'' to have stopped funding Stonewall as a consequence of Hunt's position on trans equality. One donor was reported as saying that Hunt was "no longer a worthy champion of our rights", another that she had "lost what the big principle is".
Personal life
Hunt entered a civil partnership with her partner Kirsty Lloyd in 2010, although it was reported in 2014 that the couple had separated.
Hunt works with her current partner, Caroline Ellis, as codirectors of Deeds and Words.
Hunt and Ellis live together in London
in a civil partnership.
Hunt is a practising
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and has spoken out in favour of bridging the gap between faith leaders and
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
communities.
References
External links
Ruth Hunt's page on Stonewall's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Ruth
LGBT rights activists from Wales
Living people
Welsh LGBT people
LGBT Roman Catholics
Lesbians
1980 births
British Roman Catholics
People educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls
Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford
Crossbench life peers
English LGBT politicians
LGBT life peers
Life peers created by Elizabeth II