In a landmark decision issued on April 16, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that under the Equality Act, the legal term “woman” refers strictly to biological sex, not gender identity.
The case, brought forward by campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), challenged whether transgender women who possess a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) should be legally treated as women for purposes of sex-based rights and access to single-sex spaces.
The Supreme Court ruled that transgender women — even those with a GRC — could be excluded from single-sex spaces if doing so is considered “proportionate”.
Justices Lord Hodge, Lady Rose, and Lady Simler concluded that the terms “sex” and “woman” in the context of anti-discrimination law refer to biological sex. They argued that including transgender women in such spaces could undermine the legal justification for excluding biological men.
The ruling stated: “Read fairly and in context, the provisions relating to single-sex services can only be interpreted by reference to biological sex.”
Judge Lord Hodge wrote in the judgment that allowing legal gender to redefine sex would create “an incoherent” legal structure, potentially excluding biological women who transitioned to male, while including biological men who transitioned to female.
This UK verdict comes shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January and signed an executive order declaring male and female as the only legally recognized sexes.
Trump’s order criticized gender identity policies, stating they “replace longstanding, cherished legal rights and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept.”
While women’s rights campaigners celebrated the UK ruling as a win for clarity and fairness, trans advocates have denounced it as a form of “legal erasure”.