"Guidance on how to implement the landmark supreme court ruling on gender is being adapted to lessen its impact on businesses and to ensure it tries to balance single-sex spaces with the lives of transgender people, the Guardian has been told. Lawyers from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are understood to be in discussions with government lawyers over the practicalities of guiding businesses and other institutions about last year's ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex only."
"While talks have been going on since the EHRC's guidance was sent to ministers in September, there has been what is viewed as a change in approach from the equalities watchdog since its new chair, Mary-Ann Stephenson, took over late last year. Under law, the EHRC cannot unilaterally change a code it has submitted this can happen only if ministers reject the draft and request amendments."
"But Stephenson is viewed as more open to listening to concerns about its implementation than her predecessor, Kishwer Falkner. Falkner oversaw interim advice from the EHRC on implementing the new legal landscape, which prompted alarm that it could effectively exclude trans people from the public realm, saying they should not be allowed to use toilets meant for the gender they live as, and that in some cases they could not use toilets consistent with their birth sex either."
Guidance on implementing the supreme court ruling that defines a woman by biological sex is being adapted to reduce impacts on businesses and to try to balance single-sex spaces with transgender lives. EHRC lawyers are in discussions with government lawyers about practical steps for businesses and institutions following the ruling. The EHRC's approach has shifted since Mary-Ann Stephenson became chair, appearing more open to implementation concerns than predecessor Kishwer Falkner. The EHRC cannot unilaterally change a submitted code; ministers must reject a draft and request amendments. Interim advice under Falkner prompted alarm and was withdrawn in October.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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