The UK’s top court has upheld an appeal by a campaign group on whether transgender women were legally women under equality legislation, ruling that the law referred to a “biological woman and biological sex”.
The Supreme Court’s judgment on April 16 related to whether a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document that gives legal recognition of someone’s new gender, was protected from discrimination as a woman under Britain’s Equality Act.
Campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) had argued those rights should only apply based on a person’s biological sex. It had challenged guidance issued by the devolved Scottish government over a 2018 law that was designed to increase the proportion of women on public-sector boards.
Scottish ministers’ guidance on that law stated that a trans woman with a full GRC was legally a woman.
“The terms ‘women and sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” said Patrick Hodge, Deputy President of the Supreme Court.
“But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another – it is not,” he added.
FWS welcomed the ruling on social media, stating: “Yes, absolutely jubilant here!”
Scottish MP for Edinburgh, Ash Regan, said of the ruling: “For Women Scotland won their appeal in the Supreme Court. Women’s concerns were acknowledged, women’s rights affirmed, and the Court has confirmed that the law reflects biological reality.”
While some celebrated the outcome, the court ruling was questioned by transgender activist groups such as Transactual UK.
“We are currently reviewing the High Court’s ruling regarding the interpretation of the term ‘sex’ in the Equality Act,” Transactual UK said on April 16.
“We are working to fully understand the judgment and what it may mean for the rights and everyday lives of trans people.”
