Last year, following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that stated ‘sex’ under the Equality Act means ‘biological sex’, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued interim guidance on how the ruling should be implemented in workplaces and services.
The guidance – which has since been withdrawn – advised employers that trans women should not be permitted to use women’s facilities (including toilets) and that trans men should not be permitted to use men’s facilities.
A motion passed at UNISON national women’s conference stated that the guidance had caused ‘confusion and division’.
A speaker introducing the motion described how “women at work are being scrutinised, challenged and interrogated. Not because of what they do or how they do their job, but how they look.
“Women are more than our appearance,” she said. “We are workers, carers, organisers, fighters. We are complex, messy and brilliant human beings and none of us should be reduced to whether we look like somebody else’s idea of a woman.”
Lucy Power from the national women’s committee said: “The recent interim guidance fails to recognise the complex, diverse realities of women’s lives.
“Including those whose gender expression, identity, or sexual orientation does not fit narrow social expectations of what a woman should look like.” Conference speakers agreed that this specifically impacted Black women, disabled women and butch lesbian women.
Jenny Black, from North Tyneside branch said: “Women’s access to services and spaces is now determined by how feminine they look.”
Speaking to the broader political climate in which the guidance was issued, Ms Black said: “We are debating this motion because the goal of the gender critical movement is to remove trans women like me from society.”
The motion, which passed unanimously, calls on the national women’s committee to:
- Work with the Black, disabled and LGBT+ self-organised groups to produce clear, practical guidance for members who experience discrimination or harassment in their workplaces as a result of not conforming to gender stereotypes;
- Work with activists, stewards, and members to increase understanding of the impact of gender stereotyping and the importance of inclusive women’s spaces;
- Work with Labour Link to lobby the government to ensure that equality law and policy protects all women from discrimination and continues to promote safety, inclusion, and respect for diversity.
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