M

Member

Speaking in the House of Lords on 24 April 2025

Debate

“For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling

Contribution

However, this is a judgment long in the making. It began in 2018 when the Scottish Parliament passed the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act. The definition of a woman in this Act was overturned by the Scottish courts. Scottish Ministers issued revised guidance on the definition of a woman which stated that a woman in that Act bears the same meaning as a woman in the Equality Act 2010—and included trans women with a gender recognition certificate. For Women Scotland challenged that guidance, saying that sex in the Equality Act means biological sex, so that a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate is a man for the purposes of the Act. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, and last week, the court ruled that sex in the Equality Act means biological sex. This means that a person will be considered as their biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act, regardless of whether or not they have a gender recognition certificate.

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