United Kingdom: Supreme Court rules in favor of biological sex in legal definition of “woman”

The UK Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on Wednesday, April 16, regarding gender. The court ruled that, under the law, a woman is defined as a person born biologically female, thereby excluding transgender individuals from the legal definition.

In this major decision, the UK’s highest court affirmed that the legal status of “woman” is based on biological sex, not gender identity. Simply put, one must have female genitalia (such as a vagina) to be legally recognized as a woman.

The ruling sides with feminist groups advocating for women’s rights, including the association For Women Scotland, which has long been in legal dispute with the Scottish government. In this ongoing conflict, feminist activists argued that women’s rights are being undermined by the demands of transgender rights advocates.

For women’s rights groups that supported the appeal, the decision is seen as a major victory in their efforts to protect the dignity and integrity of female-only spaces.

On the other hand, the Scottish government maintains that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), granted to individuals who have undergone gender transition, is sufficient to recognize them as women, according to France 24. For Scottish authorities, anyone holding such a certificate should be granted “the same protections as someone declared female at birth.”

This view has been firmly opposed by For Women Scotland, which argued that only biological sex should be considered in legal definitions—a position publicly supported by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. The association ultimately prevailed with the Supreme Court’s ruling.