The UK Supreme Court has delivered a historic judgment about defining a "woman" for the purpose of the Equality Act 2010. The decision from the court has made it clear that a woman as described in the Act implies a biological woman and a trans woman possessing a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) shall also be a woman for the Act's purpose.
The case, For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, involved the interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 and its application to trans people. The court looked at the meaning of "sex" and "woman" in the context of the Act, having regard to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
Key Points from the Ruling:
Biological Sex and Acquired Sex: The court made a distinction between biological sex and acquired sex, where the latter meant the sex acquired by virtue of a GRC.
Meaning of "Woman": The phrase "woman" in the Equality Act 2010 is meant to apply to biological women, but trans women with a GRC are considered women for the purposes of the Act.
Protected Characteristics: The court reiterated that the Equality Act 2010 safeguards people with protected characteristics, such as women and trans people, against unlawful discrimination.
Statutory Interpretation: The ruling was informed by the rules of statutory interpretation, which favor the natural meaning of words employed in the statute and the context in which they are used.
Implications of the Ruling:
The UK Supreme Court ruling is of great relevance to the human rights of women and trans persons in the UK. Although the ruling acknowledges a trans woman holding a GRC as a woman for the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, the ruling also draws attention to respecting the meaning of the word "woman" against the background of the Act.
Context and Background
The case was initiated by For Women Scotland, a Scottish feminist campaigning organisation advocating for women's rights. The organisation's complaint was in respect of the statutory guidance from the Scottish Ministers regarding the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018. The guidance had been amended to incorporate the court's previous ruling that the 2018 Act's definition of "woman" was beyond the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament ¹.