How the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of a woman affects trans rights

Britain’s top court ruled on Wednesday that the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of a woman is based on biological sex and does not include transgender people with gender recognition certificates.

The Supreme Court was ruling on a lawsuit brought by campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) against the devolved Scottish government in 2018 over its guidance that said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman.

The judge said Wednesday’s decision was not “a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.

But transgender activists have expressed concern while women’s rights campaigners said the ruling would bring clarity to the question of who could access single-sex spaces, such as refuges and hospitals, across England, Wales and Scotland.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Equality act, lawsuit

The Equality Act protects individuals from discrimination based on nine characteristics, including sex, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment.

The law covers direct and indirect incidents, such as harassment or victimisation, across multiple areas like employment, housing, education and transport.

In 2018, the devolved Scottish government issued guidance to accompany a law designed to increase the number of women on public sector boards, stating that a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman.

Campaign group FWS challenged the guidance, arguing the Equality Act should...

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