UK’s top court says ‘woman’ refers to someone born biologically female

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the UK equalities law defines a woman as someone born biologically female.

Justice Patrick Hodge said five judges at the court had ruled unanimously that “the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

The ruling means that a transgender person with a certificate that recognises them as female should not be considered a woman for equality purposes.

But the court added that its ruling “does not remove protection from trans people”, who are “protected from discrimination on the ground of gender reassignment”.

The case stems from a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament stating that there should be a 50 per cent female representation on the boards of Scottish public bodies. That law included transgender women in its definition of women.

For Women Scotland (FWS), a women’s rights group, had challenged that law, arguing that its redefinition of woman went beyond parliament’s powers. But Scottish officials then issued new guidance stating that the definition of woman included someone with a gender recognition certificate.