UK Supreme Court makes

On April 16, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, allowing transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) to be excluded from single-sex spaces if it is deemed proportionate. This decision came after a challenge by For Women Scotland, who questioned whether the Equality Act should treat transgender women as women. The court concluded that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Act refer specifically to biological sex, emphasizing that single-sex services must be interpreted through this lens.

The ruling, led by Judge Lord Hodge, argued that using GRCs to redefine sex would complicate legal protections. It stated that including trans women as women under the Equality Act would create inconsistencies and undermine the purpose of sex-based protections. This UK verdict came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order reinforcing a binary, biological view of sex. Reactions to the UK decision were divided—women’s rights groups praised it, while trans rights advocates called it an act of erasure, not justice.