Women are born, not certified. In other words, trans men remain men, and women remain special. That's the verdict of the highest court in the United Kingdom.
The terms ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) refer to biological sex, the Supreme Court - formerly the House of Lords - has judged.
In a unanimous decision, the UK’s highest court ruled in favour of For Women Scotland’s appeal against Scottish Government guidance that allows men who identify as female to take women-only positions on company boards.
In 2023, Scotland’s Inner House of the Court of Session backed the Scottish Government’s position, which asserts that the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 can class men who have Gender Recognition Certificates (GRC) as women, without contradicting other legislation.
Explaining their judgment, Lord Hodge, Lady Rose and Lady Simler – supported by Lord Reed and Lord Lloyd-Jones – said: “Interpreting ‘sex’ as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ and thus the protected characteristic of sex in an incoherent way.”
The Justices also identified additional provisions “that require a biological interpretation of ‘sex’ in order to function coherently”, including single-sex spaces and services, communal accommodation and single-sex higher education institutions.
They continued: “Similar confusion and impracticability arise in the operation of provisions relating to single sex characteristic associations and charities, women’s fair participation in sport, the operation of the public sector equality duty, and the armed forces.”
Consequently, they stated, the Court “rejects the suggestion of the Inner House that ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ can refer to biological sex in some sections of the EA 2010, and certificated sex in others. The meaning of ‘sex’ and ‘woman’ must be consistent throughout the EA 2010.”
In the Judgment, they stated: “The meaning of the terms ‘sex’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the EA 2010 is biological and not certificated sex.