Legal definition of ‘woman’ excludes transgender women, UK supreme court rules

The United Kingdom’s supreme court has ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.

In the 88-page judgment delivered on Wednesday, the court said the definition was meant to clarify any grey areas in the Equality Act, ruling in favour of For Women Scotland (FWS), a gender campaign group which was also the appellant.

FWS had challenged the Scottish government’s legislation that included transgender women with gender recognition certificates (GRCs) within the legal definition of ‘woman’ — under equality laws.

Specifically, FWS argued that the legal definition of ‘woman’ should be based solely on biological sex, not gender identity or possession of a GRC.

They contended that including trans women in the definition of woman under the Equality Act 2010 and related Scottish laws could undermine sex-based rights and affect single-sex spaces and services such as shelters, hospital wards, and sports.

In a unanimous verdict, the court ruled that “the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man” but cautioned that the decision was not “a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.

Susan Smith, the co-founder of FWS, hailed the judges’ ruling.

“Sex is real and women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women,” Smith said while thanking the court.

Kemi Badenoch, UK Conservative Party leader, congratulated FWS and said the ruling is a “victory”.

“Saying ‘trans women are women’ was never true in fact, and now isn’t true in law either,” Badenoch said.

“This is a victory for all of the women who faced personal abuse or lost their jobs for stating the obvious.

“Women are women and men are men: you cannot change your biological sex.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it is happy with the court’s decision, but needs more time to consider the full implications.

The ruling reflects how developments in the US could have far reaching effects in the developed world.

Hours into his second term in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating the recognition of two sexes — male and female — in the US.

He ordered that government initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusion be scrapped.

Trump also slashed foreign aid budgets in furtherance of his ‘America first’ agenda.

Weeks later, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that portions of foreign aid would be cut to supplement his country’s defence budget.