Equality, statutory interpretation and wider social and cultural implications

For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16

For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 was the second case decided by the Supreme Court in April 2025 which had relevance in medical law. The case directly concerned the lawfulness of guidance issued by the Scottish Government on the Gender Recognition on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, and concluded that the guidance was incorrect in its definition of "woman". Beyond medical law, the judgment also had a broad scope in terms of social, cultural and employment matters. David Burnet a lawyer whose special interest is in equality law, outlines the case and discusses its wider implication beyond the interpretation of terms used in the Equality Act 2010 (the "Equality Act").