27-05-2025
Vital new gender guidance to help organisations deal with Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman is in a 'state of limbo until EHRC chair is replaced'
Official guidance on how businesses should implement the Supreme Court gender ruling may not be released until the chair of the equality watchdog has left the role, it has been claimed.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) pledged to produce final guidance by July but this could reportedly be delayed by months amid infighting with its chair Baroness Falkner.
Following April's Supreme Court ruling that sex is biological, the Commission released interim guidance that trans women 'should not be permitted to use the women's facilities'.
This protects single-sex spaces in line with the landmark judgment and has wide-ranging implications for workplaces, shops, hospitals and sports clubs.
This position has been reinforced by Baroness Falkner, who has made clear repeatedly that the law as set out in the Supreme Court's judgment is effective immediately and organisations must follow it.
Last week she told Radio 4's Woman's Hour that we are 'aiming to give our finalised Code to government by the end of July' and 'then it's for government as to when they lay it in Parliament'.
However Labour MPs concerned by the Supreme Court ruling and activist EHRC officials have begun openly briefing against Baroness Falkner and have claimed the guidance could be delayed until she is replaced in November.
One MP told the Guardian: 'The government is frozen and waiting to see what the EHRC says. But I don't think we'll get anywhere with Falkner as chair. She's not neutral.
'Unless ministers are confident that all voices are being heard they won't sign off on the guidance, and they are watching this very closely. It's currently a bit of a mess.'
A number of 'insiders' also told the newspaper that the guidance may not be signed off until Baroness Falkner, a crossbench peer, departs the role. Last November she was given a 12-month extension to her four-year term and will leave after this is completed.
However the EHRC said the expected timeframe for issuing its guidance for approval by the Women and Equalities Minister by the end of July 'remains our position' and that 'anything else is just speculation'.
John Kirkpatrick, the EHRC's chief executive, added: 'We do not recognise the views attributed to 'insiders' as being representative of our staff.'
Baroness Falker's comments since the 'unambiguous' Supreme Court judgment are likely to have put her at odds with transgender activists who see the ruling as an attack on trans people.
Earlier this month she wrote: 'I regret any uncertainty among duty bearers and the public that has been fuelled by misunderstanding and distortion, particularly across social media. The judgment is a model of clarity.
'The law it sets out is effective immediately. Those with duties under the Equality Act should be following it and taking specialist legal advice where necessary.'
It is not the first time she has faced internal hostility. In 2023 she was cleared of allegations of bullying, discrimination and transphobia by trans activists among her own staff which led to an 'ideologically motivated witch-hunt'.
The apparent plot to oust Baroness Falkner was fist expose by the Mail after she was said to have angered the trans lobby by defending women's rights. In October 2023 the EHRC closed the inquiry following the findings of an independent legal review, ordered by then women and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at human rights charity Sex Matters, said that while updating the EHRC's code of practice is important, the law is already clear following the Supreme Court's ruling.
She added: 'Those claiming that the judgment is hard to understand, or that organisations should wait for further guidance, are simply trying to sow confusion where there is none.'
