Updated briefing: Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland, EHRC Code and implications for higher education

Please note that this document does not constitute legal or regulatory advice, and it is not intended to prescribe institutional actions. Institutions should take independent legal advice where necessary, particularly in complex or contested cases.

Purpose and key messages

This updated briefing summarises the implications for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Research Institutes (RIs) of the For Women Scotland UK Supreme Court judgment in 2025 on the definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010, the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s draft updated Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, and recent relevant case law. 

Key messages

• For the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, the Supreme Court held that ‘sex’, ‘woman’ and ‘man’ are to be understood by reference to biological sex, not certificated sex acquired through a Gender Recognition Certificate.
• Trans people remain protected from discrimination and harassment under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. They may also be protected from discrimination based on perceived sex or association with their acquired sex.
• The EHRC draft Code applies to services, public functions and associations. It does not update the separate EHRC employment code. This distinction matters for HEIs and RIs, which act as service providers, bodies exercising public functions and as employers.
• The Code provides important guidance, but it does not remove the need for institutional judgement. Context, proportionality, legitimate aims, privacy, dignity, safety, available alternatives and impacts on different protected groups remain central.
• Institutions should move away from ‘wait and see’ language and towards active, legally informed and documented review of relevant policies, services and facilities, if not already underway.
• Institutions should review any policy or practice that permits access to single-sex provision solely on the basis of gender identity, preference or self-ID, particularly where the service or facility is intended to operate as single-sex under the Equality Act.
• Institutions should ensure that complaints, incidents and concerns are responded to promptly, fairly and sensitively, and that decision-making is documented.