News brief

U.K. Supreme Court defines womanhood biologically. The Supreme Court has ruled that the U.K. Equality Act defines a woman as someone born biologically female. Five judges ruled unanimously that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman. The ruling means that a transgender person with a certificate that recognizes them as female should not be considered a woman for equality purposes. But the court added that its ruling “does not remove protection from trans people,” who are “protected from discrimination on the ground of gender reassignment.”

In the United States, actions by the Trump administration have been pushing back on transgender inclusion, amid sharp public divides and emotional debates over things like women’s sports and care for children.