The United Kingdom Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that under the Equality Act 2010, the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ are defined by biological sex rather than gender identity.

This decision, which was delivered their Justices: Lord Reed (President), Lord Hodge (Deputy President), Lord Lloyd Jones, Lady Rose and Lady Simler, with the other Justices agreeing, supports the view that women’s rights and spaces are protected based on biological criteria.

The ruling has been celebrated by some as a victory for women’s rights, but it also raises significant questions regarding the legal recognition of transgender individuals.

The Supreme Court in unanimously allowing the appeal, asserted that it holds that the terms “man”, “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.

The suit: [2025] UKSC 16, which is on appeal from suit: [2023] CSIH 37, has For Women Scotland Ltd as Appellants while The Scottish Ministers are the Respondents.

The issue to be determined by the Supreme Court in this appeal is one of statutory interpretation, namely the meaning of “man”, “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 (“EA 2010”).

Reacting to the judgment, a UK citizen, Alexandra Truesdale, remarked on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, @AlexandraTrues1 “On behalf of my daughters as well as personally…thank you for giving of your time and expertise to confirm legally the most basic of biological precepts. I am just sorry that your intellect, and court time, had to be expended thus”.

Also speaking, Baroness Foster of Oxton and British Conservative politician and a former Member of the European Parliament for the North West England region, Jacqueline Foster, DBE, remarked on her X (formerly Twitter) handle, “…common sense rules…Finally!”.

Another British women, Chiara Realini, also commented on her X (formerly Twitter) handle, “HalleluYAH, a big thank you to all who restored the natural order of things”.