The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that “man”, “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to sex, not self-ID or paperwork (gender-recognition certificates). This agreed with our legal interpretation. We have published new guidance and are in the process of updating our publications to reflect the judgment. We are also working to provide answers to the questions we're hearing from supporters and the media. We will publish these as soon as possible.

Laura Pascal

Head of Public Affairs

Laura Pascal

Laura Pascal has worked for a decade in Whitehall and Westminster in policy and external affairs. She was a civil servant at the Department of Health during the coalition government, and at the Department for Education under the previous government. Since 2022 she has worked in third-sector policy and public affairs, supporting charities working in poverty reduction, health and education. She has an MSc in Gender, [International] Development and Globalisation from the London School of Economics. An active feminist and political and community campaigner, she stood as a Labour candidate in a by-election for Hackney Council in January 2024. She is glad to have joined Sex Matters at a time when campaigning for clarity about sex in law is more important than ever.