The UKSC decision For Women Scotland Ltd v. The Scottish Ministers: women (and men) are now defined by their biological sex – I. Bertini
On 16 April 2025, the UK Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent) determining that the correct interpretation of the words ‘woman’, ‘sex’ and ‘man’ within the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (the ‘EA 2010’) refer exclusively to biological sex. In this instance, the court was tasked with verifying if the wording used in the EA 2010 aimed at protecting women and members of the trans community from discrimination bear a coherent meaning within the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (the ‘GRA 2004’). More specifically, the court was called to answer the question whether “the EA 2010 treats a trans woman with a GRC [gender recognition certificate reflecting the ‘acquired gender’ or ‘acquired sex’] as a woman for all purposes within the scope of its provisions, or when that Act speaks of a ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ it is referring to a biological woman and biological sex.”
Abstract: On 16 April 2025, the UK Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v. The Scottish Ministers determining that the correct interpretation of the words ‘woman’, ‘sex’ and ‘man’ within the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 refer exclusively to biological sex. In this instance, the court was tasked with verifying if the wording used in the Equality Act 2010 aimed at protecting women and members of the trans community from discrimination bear a coherent meaning within the Gender Recognition Act 2004. The Supreme Court’s decision followed a thorough examination of the Equality Act 2010, beginning with the provisions that directly relate to ‘sex’, to establish that the term should be interpreted exclusively as biological sex and it could not also encompass individuals living in an acquired gender and holding a gender recognition certificate. The ruling clarified that ‘transsexual persons’ are already recognised as a protected category under the Equality Act 2010. Moreover, the Supreme Court underlined the importance of the comparator in discrimination claims. In particular, in cases involving trans women, the Court held that a sex discrimination claim can be pursued on the grounds of perceived sex – specifically, that the person was treated less favourably because perceived as a woman.
Keywords: Equality Act 2010; biological sex; transgender; discrimination; UK Supreme Court