Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex has garnered widespread attention from employers and HR experts. Here, Personnel Today reflects their views and those of campaigners.
Judge Lord Hodge ruled that the “unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.”
The ruling means that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can still be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.
He warned that the decision did not represent a victory for one group over another.
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However, that view has not necessarily been shared by campaigners. The campaign group Scottish Trans urged people “not to panic”, while Simon Blake, chief executive of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, said the ruling was “incredibly worrying for the trans community”.
Meanwhile, campaign group Sex Matters, which made arguments in the case, said the court’s ruling was correct. Maya Forstater, the group’s chief executive, said: “The court has given us the right answer: the protected characteristic of sex – male and female – refers to reality, not to paperwork.”
She added that the outcome was “the common-sense one, and the only one that protects everyone’s human rights. Now the government, officials and regulators need to act to make sure that everyone understands the law. Women have been lied to and let down for too long.”
The key decision the Supreme Court needed to make was whether a person with a gender recognition certificate who recognised their gender as female should be regarded as a woman under the Equality Act, meaning they would therefore gain protective rights such as the right to equal pay and protection from discrimination.
The decision comes after a long-running battle between the Scottish government and campaign group For Women Scotland, who objected to a proposed amendment to the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 that proposed expanding the scope of the legislation to include all trans women, including those who did not have a gender recognition certificate.
Kishwer Falkner, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), called the ruling “a victory for common sense, but only if you recognise that trans people exist.”
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Falkner added that trans people had rights, “and their rights must be respected – then it becomes a victory for common sense.
“It’s not a victory for an increase in unpleasant actions against trans people. We will not tolerate that. We stand here to defend trans people as much as we do anyone else.”
CIPD: clarity for employers
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), agreed that the judgment recognised the rights of transgender people. He said the ruling would improve understanding for employers and employees in “what has been a difficult area for employers to interpret and find the right balance, recognising the rights and beliefs that need to be upheld for all”.
He advised employers to ensure their policies and approaches are up to date with today’s legal clarification of the position in the UK, but said there were still legal and practical issues for employers to work through to support inclusion, dignity, and fairness at work and ensure all colleagues were protected from discrimination and harassment.
Cheese added: “We hope that today’s ruling will simplify some of the guidance and discussion in this space and as the CIPD, we are updating our own content and resources for HR professionals where needed.”
Stonewall’s Simon Blake said that although his organisation was deeply concerned “at the widespread implications” of the ruling” it was “important to be reminded the court strongly and clearly re-affirmed the Equality Act protects all trans people against discrimination, based on Gender Reassignment, and will continue to do so”.
He vowed that “Stonewall will continue its work with the government and parliamentarians to achieve equal rights under the law for LGBTQ+ people.”
Sandi Wassmer, CEO of not-for-profit organisation enei (Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion), joined Peter Cheese in urging “employers to remember that transgender employees remain protected from discrimination under gender reassignment in the Equality Act. Alongside this, it is important for employers to ensure that whatever gender people identify as, they feel safe and without fear of discrimination in their workplaces.
“Creating inclusive cultures and psychologically safe environments for everyone is absolutely essential, which means going beyond the Equality Act to cover any reason why a person may be discriminated against in the workplace.”
‘Thorny issues’ ahead
Employment lawyer Hina Belitz, partner with Excello Law, took a less sanguine view of the ruling, however. She said it would “inevitably lead to thorny issues”.
Belitz said: “Employment law has long recognised sex differentials – this is, in fact, embedded into the very fabric of the law when considering, for example, discrimination on the basis of sex. It is the bedrock of equality law to recognise a tendency towards unequal treatment based on sex, particularly for women.
“This will inevitably lead to some thorny issues: for instance, a biological woman who transitions to male and receives a gender recognition certificate for doing so – if this person were to become pregnant, how will the law treat parental leave as maternity and paternity leave are differentiated in the law?”
Trans rights ‘have not been diminished’
For Tracey Burke, senior HR consultant at WorkNest, the key benefit of the ruling was the clarity provided to employers who had previously faced conflicting interpretations of the law. She added that organisations must remain mindful of the potential impact on transgender employees and take proactive steps to foster inclusion and support.
Referring to legal disputes involving changing rooms, such as the tribunal brought against NHS Fife by nurse Sandie Peggie, and a group of nurses in Darlington against their NHS Trust, Burke said: “High-profile cases involving workplace facilities, such as changing rooms and bathrooms, underscore the complexity of applying single-sex policies. Employers may now need to review these provisions to ensure they remain compliant while also creating environments where all staff feel safe and respected.”
Burke emphasised that the ruling should not be seen as diminishing trans rights: “As the Court itself noted, this is not a victory for one group over another, but a clarification aimed at supporting fairness, legal consistency, and better policy implementation across workplaces.
“Employers are encouraged to continue investing in inclusive practices, communication, staff training, and a zero-tolerance approach to bullying or harassment. The judgment provides a more certain legal foundation – ensuring that compliance and compassion go hand in hand.”
What comes next?
As for what comes next, Falkner told the BBC “the next stage of litigation may well be tests as to the efficacy of the gender recognition certification, and or other areas. We don’t believe they are [worthless]. We think they’re quite important.
“But I think there will be other areas, I mean, the Government is thinking of digital IDs, and if digital IDs come in, then what documentation will provide the identity of that person? So it’s going to be a space that we’ll have to watch very carefully as we go on.”
Falkner added that, looking forward, “We are going to have a new statutory code of practice, statutory meaning it will be the law of the land, it will be interpreted by courts as the law of the land. We’re hoping we’re going to have that by the summer.”
She added this would give clarity that trans women could not participate in women’s sports or use women-only toilets or changing rooms, and the NHS must update its guidance on single-sex wards based on biological sex.
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